Democrats edge GOP in May voter registration
Judge OKS wording for ban on sanctuary cities
Nevada Democrats in May continued their trend of registering the most voters, but Republicans aren’t far behind.
Democrats added 5,631 more voters to their ranks while Republicans registered 4,359 more voters, according to new figures released Friday by the Nevada secretary of state. The data covers May 1 through May 24.
An additional 15,034 Nevadans have registered to vote in May, an increase of 1 percent. The total number of voters is up 11 percent compared with this point in 2016.
There are 1.4 million registered voters in Nevada: 38 percent are Democrats, 34 percent are Republicans, 21 percent are nonpartisan, and the remaining 7 percent belong to other parties.
Residents are also turning out to vote early. As of Thursday, 53,351 voters statewide have cast votes, the majority of whom are Democrats. Early voting ends June 8.
Vilela sued
A Nevada consulting firm is suing Congressional District 4 candidate Amy Vilela for $90,000. The lawsuit, filed May 8, alleges Vilela agreed to pay People’s Project LLC up to $8,000 a month and 15 percent of money raised for consulting services. The firm, formed last year by six people, including Vilela’s current campaign manager, Keenan Korth, provided interview coaching, speechwriting, website design and other services.
But the lawsuit said Vilela only paid $5,751, even after the agency terminated its contract, and is paying Korth the money owed to the firm. “Mr. Korth has acted against the interests of (People’s Project LLC) numerous times by competing with the company,” the lawsuit said. Korth did not respond to requests
for comment.
Sanctuary cities
A measure to ban sanctuary cities in Nevada could head to voters in 2020.
Carson City District Court Judge Todd Russell on Thursday approved new language for a potential ballot measure. The proposed constitutional amendment would make it illegal for Nevada cities and counties to become sanctuary communities, which means they do not cooperate with federal immigration officials.
The initiative’s wording was challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, which argued it was broad and confusing. The judge’s decision opens the door for placing the measure on the ballot in 2020. If approved by voters, it would need to be approved again in 2022 because it’s a constitutional amendment.
Endorsements
Former Nevada Rep. Steven Horsford landed an endorsement from U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris as he fights to win back his former seat.
Horsford is running for Nevada’s 4th Congressional District, which he represented for one term before losing to Republican Cresent Hardy in 2015.
Contact Ramona Giwargis at rgiwargis@reviewjournal. com or 702-380-4538. Follow @ Ramonagiwargis on Twitter.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.