Democrats continue to close gap on GOP’s narrow registration edge

Friday, March 12, 1999 | 12:31 p.m.

In fact, more people have registered as non-partisans in Nevada than have registered as Republicans since the Nov. 3 election, according to new figures released Friday by the secretary of state.

Over the past four months, 4,028 Nevadans have registered to vote as Democrats, 1,663 as Republicans and 1,735 as non-partisan.

Republicans, who 25 years ago were outnumbered 2-to-1 in the Silver State, continue to hold a slight edge in overall registration - 377,132 to 376,247.

That means statewide registration breaks down as 41.6 percent Republican and 41.5 Democrat, a difference of just 885 voters.

Non-partisans, who total 126,822, make up about 14 percent. That doesn't include another 25,583 third-party registrations, mostly Independent Americans (16,776) and Libertarians (4,954).

"The trend over the last 20 years has been Republican registration," Secretary of State Dean Heller said Friday.

"The Republicans got a plurality a couple of years ago and it has been hovering about the same - an advantage of 500 to 1,500 - for the past 18 months to two years," he said in an interview.

Heller, a Republican, acknowledged that Clinton's troubles had led party leaders on both sides to "anticipate the trend would be a little different, that Republicans would gain registration advantages.

"But if I were to look at these numbers historically, I would say the troubles in Washington are not affecting Democratic registration in this state," he told The Associated Press.

Non-partisans continue to make gains despite the fact they are not allowed to vote in party primaries.

"If anything, it is the non-partisans who are growing fastest," Heller said. "I would say that has been the trend over the past 10 years."

The registration figures for the end of February show a record 905,784 Nevadans eligible to vote, an increase of 7,919 from Nov. 1.

Democrats are strongest in Clark County with 44.6 percent of the registered voters compared with 38.5 percent Republicans or 256,136 to 221,292.

Republicans control Washoe County, 45.2 percent to 36.9 percent or 85,761 to 69,344. The GOP boasts a 2-to-1 advantage in Douglas County, 15,107 to 7,762.