Nonpartisan voters are expected to make difference

As early voting began Saturday, there were more than 1.2 million active voters and 1.4 million total voters registered in Nevada for the upcoming election.

Registration for the Nov. 4 General Election closed Oct. 14. According to Secretary of State Ross Miller, Democrats registered 2,466 voters between the first of the month and the 14th while Republicans registered 2,955. Nonpartisan registrations outpaced both at 3,202.

In total registration, Democrats have 597,989 registered compared to 490,496 Republicans but the GOP tends to turn out in higher numbers, especially in non-presidential elections. That means despite the gap, it’s still the nonpartisan voters who decide most elections. There are 290,237 registered non partisans in Nevada.

The next highest registration total is for the Independent American Party which has a total of 71,204 voters in its roll.

In Carson City, there are 28,039 registered to vote. Of those, 26,158 are active voters but all on the list can vote election day. Of those, 11,562 are Republican and 8,310 Democrats with 4,345 nonpartisans and 1,499 IAP voters.

Douglas County reported total registration of 29,257 with 15,491 Republicans — double the 7,230 Democrats — registered. Douglas also has 4,650 nonpartisan voters and 1,459 IAP voters.

Churchill County has a similar Republican registration advantage with 6,895 of the 12,240 registered as GOP and 2,651 as Democrats. Churchill also has 1,857 nonpartisans and 702 IAP members.