Nevada Democratic voters close in on Republicans

Nevada Democrats are signing up more and more voters and now, with the deadline for registration nearing, are only a tenth of 1 percent behind Republicans, according to reports from election officials.

The latest reports available from the secretary of state for areas outside the biggest counties of Clark and Washoe - through June - plus current totals reported Friday by Clark and Washoe add up to 374,379 Republicans and 373,097 Democrats statewide. That's a difference of just 1,282.

With 921,484 registered voters in this battleground state, the Republicans represent 40.6 percent and the Democrats account for 40.5 percent of the total. The rest are nonpartisans and splinter-party members.

Updated numbers for outlying counties aren't expected from the secretary of state's office until mid-August. But new Clark and Washoe numbers should be ready next week - and election officials anticipate another surge as a result of Saturday's partial registration deadline.

Saturday marks the last day Nevadans can register to vote at satellite locations for the Sept. 7 primary.

After that and through Aug. 17, people must register in person at main offices for election officials around the state. For the Nov. 2 general election, the shut-off date for registration is Oct. 12.

"There's an astounding number of new voters," Washoe County Voter Registrar Dan Burk said Friday. "Whether that means more people showing up at the polls remains to be seen."

If Democrats manage to overtake Republicans, it will be the first time since February 2002.

Democrats expect their get-out-the-vote efforts will give them an edge, but Republicans are questioning whether a lot of the Democrats' newly registered voters will actually make it to the polls.