Reno Gazette Journal: Democrats take over lead in Washoe County voter registration

[featherman]

"Democrats took the lead away from Republicans in Washoe County voter registration for the first time in 30 years Monday, a shift that has the potential of fundamentally changing statewide politics for the next several election cycles.

By 2:45 p.m. Monday, officials had tallied 958 more Democrats than Republicans in the county as they worked to input a glut of last minute new voters into the system.
Registrar Dan Burk said the numbers will change after registration ends tonight and his staff finishes processing the applications. He said the last Democrats had more registered voters in the county was 1978.

Scores of new voters waited in a lines that stretched out of the office Monday and Burk expects at least the same volume today. Both parties are working hard to find new voters at the last minute."

More at link:
http://news.rgj.com/article/20081013/NEWS19/81013046/1232

Bush won Washoe by about 6000 votes in 2004. Kerry also lost Elko County by nearly 9000 votes, a county that Obama has now visited 3 times this year, the first Dem ever to do so.
Kerry lost Nevada by 21000 votes because his margin in Clark County (Las Vegas) was not enough to overcome the Bush vote in all the other counties in Nevada.

Looks like things will be very different this year.

[featherman]

1. Addendum: Obama leads McCain in latest Washoe County polling

"Barack Obama has erased traditional Republican advantages in four key bellwether counties.

Barack Obama has erased traditional Republican advantages in four key bellwether counties that President Bush won in 2000 and 2004, according to a new Politico/InsiderAdvantage survey. Each county is critical to the outcome in the battleground state where it is located.

In Washoe County, near Reno, Nev., Obama leads McCain 46 percent to 45 percent , with 6 percent undecided..."

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14556.html