Huge Democratic Advantage In Nevada Early Voting (Absentee, too)

from National Journal: http://www.nationaljournal.com/2012-presidential-campaign/first-weekend-of-early-voting-favors-obama-in-battleground-nevada-20121022


____ After two days of early voting in Nevada, Democrats boast that figures released by county elections officials show they hold a significant lead.

About 53 percent of the voters who turned out on Saturday and Sunday in Clark County, the state's most populous, were Democrats, while just 31 percent were Republicans. The 22-point disparity is higher than the 15 points by which Democrats outnumber Republicans—a sign, the party says, of the field organization Sen. Harry Reid and Nevada Democrats have spent a decade building.

Early voting in Washoe County, home to Reno, showed a similar Democratic advantage. Registered voters in the state's bellwether county split evenly, 38 percent for both Democrats and Republicans. Over the weekend, Democrats made up 47 percent of those casting ballots early, compared with 38 percent for Republicans, a nine-point Democratic advantage.

"We had a blockbuster day yesterday. We’re going to have another great day today. And we’ll continue that until November 6 and give everybody the opportunity to make sure that they express their support for the candidate that’s going to best support them. And in this community, in this state, that’s going to be Barack Obama," Berkley told National Journal.

Republicans consistently run behind Democrats among early voters in Nevada. But the GOP has two firewalls: absentee voters, who tend to hail from rural, Republican-leaning counties in the state, and voters who turn up at the polls on Election Day. But in what could be a troubling sign for the GOP, early reports over the weekend suggest Democrats are even outperforming Republicans among voters casting an absentee ballot. Jon Ralston, the Nevada politics guru, reported that Democratic voters have turned in 52 percent of absentee ballots returned to Clark County, five points higher than their registration edge over Republicans.


read more: http://www.nationaljournal.com/2012-presidential-campaign/first-weekend-of-early-voting-favors-obama-in-battleground-nevada-20121022