Monday, Jan. 18, 2021 | 2 a.m.
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In the aftermath of the storming of the U.S. Capitol, a Sun reader called us with a suggestion. Could we, she asked, inform voters how to change their party affiliation, and explain how that would affect their ability to vote in future elections?
Terrific idea. No doubt, many Republicans are questioning whether they can still support the party responsible for the insurrection in Washington and the ongoing threat of more violence both there and at statehouses across the nation.
If Southern Nevada Republicans have had enough, it would certainly be understandable. The GOP has become the party of radical and even violent extremism, fomented by party leaders in Nevada and elsewhere who abetted President Donald Trump in his attempt to invalidate the votes of millions of Americans, then refused to categorically disavow the deadly violence that Trump incited Jan. 6.
No reasonable person wants to be involved in the party of anti-democracy, and that’s what the GOP is becoming. Even so, for current Republicans tempted to change parties, we want to raise another option: fighting from within your party to save it from the radical fringe trying to take it over.
But if you have really given up on a GOP willing to countenance political violence, it’s easy to change your affiliation. The Nevada Secretary of State’s office and the Clark County Election Department offer several avenues for making the change. They are:
ν Visiting the secretary of state’s designated web page for registration services.
There, voters with a valid Nevada driver’s license or state-issued identity card can access their voter registration records and make changes online, including their party affiliation.
ν Logging into Clark County’s web page for registration services.
By typing in your first and last name, date of birth and the last four digits of your driver’s license number or Social Security number, you can access a pull-down menu that will allow you to change your affiliation.
ν Calling the Election Department at 702-455-8683 and requesting a form for registration changes by mail.
Changing affiliation will affect voters only in primary elections, where they’ll either have to vote for the candidates of the new party they’ve chosen or, if independents, will not be able to vote in partisan races. In other words, registered Democrats cannot vote for Republican races on a primary ballot, and independents can’t vote for either Democratic or Republican races on those ballots.
However, voters can vote on nonpartisan races in primary elections — city councils and mayors, Clark County School District Board of Trustees, judges, etc.
As for general elections, including the 2022 midterms and the 2024 presidential election, voters who change their affiliation will not be affected. They can vote for all races on those ballots.
More information can be found on the county election department’s home page.
The bottom line, though, is that changing affiliation is easy.
