CA Registration Report: Independent Voters Cross 5 Million Mark
California Secretary of State Alex Padilla released the latest voter registration numbers Tuesday. The report shows that the number of No Party Preference (independent) voters -- the second largest voting bloc in the state -- continues to climb, and has surpassed 5 million voters.
No Party Preference voters now make up 26.75% of the registered voting population. Voters registered NPP jumped 252,534 voters from the last report dated May 21. It is, however, important to note a couple of things:
- It is difficult to determine exactly how many of these new NPP voters are a result of the state's new automatic voter registration system (called Motor Voter), but
- The trend toward larger independent voter registration existed before the implementation of automatic voter registration.
FIRST REPORTED ON IVN: CA Voters Beware: There’s A Serious Problem with DMV’s Motor Voter System
This also does not include the many voters who may be unintentionally registered with the American Independent Party -- which previous reports suggest could be as high as 90% of its registered members.
The deadline to register to vote for the November midterms is October 22. Eligible voters who miss the registration deadline may still have an opportunity to cast a ballot under the state's new "conditional voter registration" option. This option is only available at county elections offices and select satellite locations depending on the rules of the county.
Don't know if you are on the active voter registrations rolls? Check your voter registration status here.
Photo Credit: Jospeh Sohm / shutterstock.com
About the Author
Shawn M Griffiths
Shawn is the Election Reform Editor for IVN.us. He studied history and philosophy at the University of North Texas, and joined the IVN team in 2012. He has several years of experience covering the broad scope of political and election reform efforts across the country, and has an extensive knowledge of the movement at large. A native Texan, he now lives in San Diego, California.