Registered voters' ranks soar as deadline nears

Whether it’s Donald Trump’s unorthodox campaign, the fiery Clinton-Sanders showdown or just general White House-season buzz, Southe Califoia counties have become swollen with newly registered voters ahead of today’s deadline to register to vote in the state’s June 7 primary election.

In Los Angeles County, more than 304,000 people have registered to vote since April 6, the highest numerical increase in Califoia, according to the secretary of state’s office.

In Orange County, more than 65,000 new voters have registered since Jan. 1, according to Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley.

In San Beardino County, the registered voter count rose by 44,000 between Jan. 3 and May 15, according to numbers provided by the county’s elections office.

About 17.2 million Califoians — 70 percent of those eligible — are registered to vote, the secretary of state reported earlier this month. Between April 2012 and April 2016, the percentage of Democratic voters held steadily while the percentage of GOP voters fell and the number of “no party preference” voters grew.

Statewide, roughly four in 10 voters are registered Democrats. About 28 percent are Republican and just under 24 percent are unaffiliated with any party.

A federal lawsuit filed Friday by supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Beie Sanders alleges state officials failed to inform “no party preference” voters they can receive “crossover ballots” to vote in the Democratic, American Independent and Libertarian primaries or that party-affiliated voters can re-register as “no party preference” voters for those primaries.

The plaintiffs include the American Independent Party and the Voting Rights Defense Project, described in the suit as a group aiming to educate voters and boost tuout “for their candidate Beie Sanders.”

The suit seeks to extend the registration deadline to June 7, so that “no party preference” voters can re-register with a party or request a ballot for the Democratic, American Independent Party or Libertarian Party primaries.

In an April column in Capitol Weekly, Paul Mitchell of Political Data Inc., which compiles statistics about voters, reported that more than 850,000 Califoians registered to vote between Jan. 1 and March 31, twice as many as those that registered during the same time period in 2012.

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The surge has mainly helped an already strong Califoia Democratic Party. Democratic registration grew 185 percent between January and March of this year, Mitchell wrote.

No party preference and GOP registrations rose 65 and 63 percent, respectively, he added.

Despite the boom, the number of registered voters in San Beardino and Orange counties fell from April 2012 to April 2016, according to secretary of state numbers. Officials in those counties pointed to ongoing efforts to clear the voter rolls of outdated listings and of those who haven’t voted in years.

On the ballot

Normally the competition for the Republican and Democratic presidential nominations is all but over by the time Califoia’s primary takes place. But this year, it seemed as though the state would play a crucial role in deciding who would compete for the Oval Office.

Then the exits of Ted Cruz and John Kasich cleared the way for Trump to become the GOP’s nominee-to-be. Beie Sanders is mounting a spirited campaign for the Democratic nomination, but Hillary Clinton’s current delegate lead makes her an overwhelming favorite.

In his Capitol Weekly column, Mitchell wrote that Latino voter registration grew 98 percent between Jan. 1 and March 31. Latino community advocates have said that Trump, who has described undocumented Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug dealers and vowed to build a wall along the Mexican border, has inspired many Latino immigrants to become U.S. citizens so they can vote against him.

This year’s primary asks voters to decide who holds local offices, including judgships and seats on county boards of supervisors. Voters also will be asked to narrow crowded fields for state and federal offices, including 34 candidates seeking to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer.

For legislative and congressional seats, the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the November general election.

Early voting

Voters don’t need to wait until June 7. Vote-by-mail ballots have already been sent, and early voting started May 9 at elections offices and other locations.

Compared with 2012, there’s more early voting in at least two counties. As of May 13, 252 people had voted early in Los Angeles County compared with 72 for the first week of early voting four years ago.

In San Beardino County, 443 people voted early as of May 18, said Public Information Manager Melissa Eickman. Just 172 voted early during the same time period in the 2012 primary.

To encourage early voting, San Beardino County officials have set up a “ballot selfie” area at the elections office where voters can take selfies with unmarked ballots. The selfies can be shared through social media.

Califoia Secretary of State Alex Padilla is crediting Facebook with boosting registration. Almost 200,000 transactions were completed on the state’s online voter registration website on May 16 and 17, the same time Califoians on Facebook received online reminders to register.

Open vs. closed

Voters must update their registration if they move, change their names or want to change their party affiliation. To vote for Trump, voters will have to be registered with the GOP.

That’s because the Republican primary is open only to Republican-registered voters. The Califoia Democratic Party allows unaffiliated voters to participate in its primary.

State law gives qualified political parties the option to include independent voters in their primaries. Sanders has fared worse and Clinton has done better in states with closed Democratic primaries.

The state Democratic party first opened its primary in 2004, a move party Executive Director Chris Masami Myers credits with attracting new voters.

“Voters’ excitement for the presidential race will help Kamala Harris in the U.S. Senate race (and) Democrats for Congress and in state races,” he said. “We’re going to work hard to keep every primary voter engaged all the way to November.”

Regarding the Republican primary, Califoia GOP spokeswoman Kaitlyn MacGregor said: “Califoia Republicans believe in a system that respects the will of our Republican voters, unlike Democrats who supersede the will of their members through party bosses and superdelegates.

“That is why the members of the CRP have chosen to protect the voice of our voters and why you must be a registered Republican to cast your vote for the Republican Presidential candidate of your choice.”

Staff writers David Montero and Martin Wisckol contributed to this report.