CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — An analysis of voter behavior and political district lines by The Associated Press finds Nevada Democrats may have managed to get a leg up in the boundaries that were drawn by a court.
The evaluation released Saturday found the Nevada Assembly's 42 districts gave more favor to Democrats than the lower chamber of any other state legislature in the country in 2016.
Democrats and redistricting drafters in Nevada rebut a Democratic advantage. They point to the swing state's hotly contested seats and an independent redistricting process in 2011.
The AP analyzed 2016 election results using a formula comparing the statewide average share of the vote that a party receives in each district with the statewide percentage of seats it wins.
A lawyer who helped draft the current districts, Thomas Sheets, argues an analysis of the Republican-controlled 2015 Nevada Legislature would produce different results.