Politics & Government
Registered Republicans in L.A. County Declines
Democrats call Los Angeles "the big blue beacon of hope for Democrats nationwide..." Republicans suggest new registration data is not reliable.
The percentage of registered Republicans in Los Angeles County has shrunk to 22 percent of the electorate, as the General Election looms Tuesday.
Statewide, the percentage of Republican registrants has shrunk to 29.3 percent, according to figures released by the Secretary of State late Friday.
Democratic party officials say the state's new online voter registration is responsible for the blue surge.
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A record 18.2 million Californians are now registered to vote, up about 950,000 voters from the 2008 election. Back then, the G.O.P. had 31.4 percent of the registrants.
California Republicans hold an 8-point edge over "no party preference" voters, who are now more than one fifth of the Golden State's electorate.
Find out what's happening in Manhattan Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The percentage of Democratic voters remains nearly unchanged, at 43.7 percent.
Reaction to the new voting system and its results fell along predictable partisan lines. Los Angeles County Democratic Chair Eric C. Bauman put out a press release trumpeting his view that "L.A. will remain the big blue beacon of hope for Democrats nationwide for years to come."
Republican state Chair Tom Del Beccao told the Washington Post that the new numbers reflect a registration system that does not have enough study or safeguards. "We're going to have to see whether those are valid registrations or actual voters," he told the Post.
