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:

1. 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
2. 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