Democrats continue voter registration gains in February

By Geoff Dornan

Appeal Capitol Bureau

Between the end of January and the middle of February, Democrats added nearly 16,000 new voters to their rolls while the GOP and Nevada's minor parties lost voters in nearly every county.

In Carson City and Douglas County, GOP registrations declined a bit while Democrats added nearly 250 voters in each county.

Statewide, the total number of registered voters increased 6,330 to 1,253,523.

Democrats increased total registration by 15,987 in that half-month. Part of that gain came from 4,834 independents who chose a party - overwhelmingly the Democratic Party.

The Republican loss in total registered voters was 3,455. The Independent American Party lost 939 voters - dropping to 48,882 - while the Libertarians lost 150 voters and the Natural Law Party lost 22 voters.

As a result of all those shifts, the Democrats now lead Republicans in statewide registration by 44,676.

Democrats produced increases in 15 counties, with only Elko County reporting a decrease - by two voters. Republicans, on the other hand, showed a drop in registered voters in 13 of Nevada's 17 counties.

The GOP showed gains in three counties: Two votes in Lander, six in Lincoln and four in White Pine, while Eureka County reported no change in any party's totals.

Democrats grew by 246 in Carson City to 9,325 and 247 in Douglas to 8,462. Republicans lost 77 Carson voters (12,432) and 47 Douglas voters (16,234).

The big changes were in populous Clark County where the Democrats gained 11,238 voters while the GOP lost 2,304. In Washoe, Democrats grew by 3,317 while Republicans lost 742 voters.

Secretary of State Ross Miller said he expects the total number of registered voters in Nevada to continue to increase this year.

"We expect to see a continuing increase based on the interest in the presidential race and on the number of voter registration applications still outstanding," he said.

The Secretary of State's office reports voter registration statistics on a monthly basis by posting the figures on the first business day of every month on the Secretary of State's Web site at www.nvsos.gov.

• Contact reporter Geoff Dornan at gdornan@nevadaappeal.com or 687-8750.