A Sneak Peek at New Voter Reg Numbers

In case you missed it this morning, the Clark County Election Department released new voter registration statistics for June. And since over 70% of the state's population and about 2/3 of the state's voters are in Clark County, this gives us a good idea of what to expect when the Secretary of State's office releases new statewide voter registration numbers in a few days. So what's in there?

Basically, there are some surprising numbers that pop out. For one, Clark County's overall active voter rolls jumped nearly 2.7% from 691,575 voters at the close of primary registration (in mid May) to 710,149 voters. Finally, the active voter rolls are growing again! For anyone who appreciates "small d democracy", that has to be good news.

However for "Big D" Democrats, there's even more good news. Countywide, their voter registration advantage jumped from 10.97% to 11.46%. In raw numbers, the gap has widened to 81,385 voters. Obviously, all the hard work done by OFA and Nevada Democrats is rewarding them.

And what makes last month even better for Democrats is that unlike March, they're finally starting to see sustained gains in key swing districts that will determine control of both the US Congress and the Nevada Legislature next year. In NV-03, the Republican advantage narrowed from an already tiny 0.71% to an even more minuscule 0.41%, or 1,163 voters (that is, the new gap between the GOP and Dems in NV-03). And in the Clark County portion of NV-04 (remember, it's a multi-county district, so we won't know the full results until the SoS report is live), Democrats' advantage widened from 13.38% to 13.86%, or 30,963 voters. So at least now, Nevada Democrats' registration gains are happening in swing areas in addition to base strongholds (NV-01).

The numbers become even more dramatic when we jump into the swing (Nevada Legislature) Senate Districts in Clark County. In SD 5 in Henderson, Democrats increased their advantage from 3.10% to 3.19%. In SD 6 in the Summerlin and Northwest areas of Las Vegas, Democrats' registration edge jumped from 3.32% to 3.81%. In SD 9, which spans the great Southwest from Summerlin South to Mountain's Edge to Southern Highlands, the Democratic advantage rose from 4.43% to 4.78%. And in SD 18 in Northwest Las Vegas, the Republican advantage shrunk from 3.01% to 2.80%. Again, it finally looks like Democrats are making and sustaining gains in the swing districts they need to win in November.

Overall, this first round of voter registration updates looks quite good for Nevada Democrats. We'll have to wait for the Secretary of State's numbers to see if Dems also gained in Washoe County and the rurals. But so far, Team Blue on Valley View has good reason to smile... And even more reason to celebrate this week.