More registered voters in Nevada after new law takes effect

Nevada saw a spike in registered voters in January, a jump that Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske said is the result of a new law that automatically registered someone to vote when they apply for a driver's license or state ID card.

Cegavske announced this week that more than 27,000 new voter registrations came in during January—a 1.72% increase.

A so-called “motor voter” law that took effect Jan. 1 automatically registers eligible people to vote when they apply for a driver's license or state ID card. The law also calls for voter rolls to be automatically updated when someone renews their license or updates their information with the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

With the new registrations, Nevada closed out the first month of the election year with more than 1.6 million voters.

Of the new voters, most signed up as unaffiliated with any political party. Nearly 14,000 people registered as nonpartisan, while about 7,900 registered as Democrats and about 4,000 registered as Republicans.

Democrats represent 38% of Nevada's registered voters, while Republicans have 33%. Nonpartisan voters are 23%.