Democrats, Republicans added thousands of voters in 2012

By Cy Ryan

Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013 | 2:52 p.m.

The number of registered voters in Nevada surpassed the 1.3 million mark in 2012, Secretary of State Ross Miller said Wednesday.

At the end of the year, Nevada had 1,300,185 voters, an increase of 224,168 over 2011.

Democrat and Republican parties added to their ranks, and Democrats increased their registration lead over Republicans to more than 100,000 voters. The number of nonpartisan voters grew by more than 50,000.

Miller, Nevada's chief election officer, said state Democrats finished 2012 with 547,256 voters, compared with 446,679 in 2011. The number of registered Republicans grew from 395,845 to 447,158 over the period. Democrats outnumber Republicans in Clark and Mineral counties.

The number of nonpartisan registrants increased from 171,544 in 2011 to 227,863 last year. The number of Independent Party voters rose from 48,784 to 60,739.

Miller said Clark County had 408,719 Democrats in 2012 compared with 321,292 in 2011. The county listed 271,694 Republicans last year compared with 235,642 Republicans in 2011.

The number of nonpartisan voters in Clark County increased from 116,697 in 2011 to 158,818 last year. Registered Independent American voters grew from 31,327 to 39,459.

In Washoe County, the other metropolitan area in the state, Republicans lead Democrats in voter registration 92,388 to 91,702. Those totals were up from 84,749 and 81,870, respectively, in 2011.