Voter registration reaches record numbers

Registered Democrats have extended their lead over Republicans in Yuma County, part of a statewide and national trend that could affect the presidential election and trickle down into local politics.

Yuma County's last report to the Arizona Secretary of State's office, on Aug. 13, listed 29,730 Democrats, 25,700 Republicans, 424 Libertarians, 44 Green Party members and 20,613 voters categorized as other, indicating independent status or membership in a non-listed party.

The Democratic advantage is up slightly from 2004 and could be even greater once final tallies are in.

Yuma County's election office has been so overwhelmed by new voter registration, it hasn't been able to provide more current statistics on voter breakdown. The application avalanche, according to voter registration coordinator Krysty Marin, has forced the staff to concentrate on getting early-voting ballots out and sending basic data like voter name, address and party to the Arizona Secretary of State's Office instead of additional data on age and sex.

Marin said the state normally requires updates every quarter but has increased that to six times this year.

"We have 48 hours after an early ballot request comes in to fill and send that request," Marin said. "That's what I am concerned with now. The secretary of state doesn't want numbers until we have everything in."

The total voter registration for Yuma County, listed at 76,511 on Aug. 13, has increased since then. Of the 42 county precincts, Republicans surprisingly outnumber Democrats in 24 of them. But the number differences in registered major party members in top Democratic precincts overtake any Republican advantages.

The largest Republican edge is 838 voters, in Precinct 15. Democrats have numerical advantages of more than 1,500 in three precincts and a 2,121-member edge in Precinct 31.

"I think a lot of people are fed up," said Charlene Fernandez, chairwoman of the Yuma County Democratic Party. "They are dissatisfied with what has been happening in the last eight years. A lot of Democrats are fed up and ready to take control. It will be interesting to see the information on our young people. They are taking over."

The sentiment and statistics mirror statewide and national trends. Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer announced a "record-setting increase in the number of overall voter registrations" on Oct. 7. The secretary of state's office stayed open until 12:01 a.m. Oct. 7 answering more than 2,200 citizen phone calls and collecting more than 41,723 voter registration forms, according to a release.

The cutoff for voter registration for the general election was Oct. 6 at midnight. The cutoff date had a single-day record 38,872 people register online, breaking the previous single-day Internet registration record of 21,400 in October 2004.

Yuma County staff worked through the weekend and Columbus Day - a usual federal and state holiday - to fill orders. Marin, like state and national officials, said she expects a greater turnout for the Nov. 4 general election because of the lack of an incumbent candidate, the closeness of the race and the economy.

The latter, she said, was a main factor in the registration of many new voters, so much so that there are "buckets and buckets" of early ballot requests left to fill. Marin said more than 23,000 early ballots have been requested for Yuma County, which had an estimated 2006 population of 187,555, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Seventy percent of those, or 131,000, were over age 18.

Fernandez said 161 people registered Oct. 6 at the Democratic headquarters or with the Young Democrats at Arizona Western College. Not all were Democrats. The Young Democrats also have branches at Yuma High with another being formed at Kofa High. San Luis High has expressed interest in starting a Young Democrats club as well.

Joe "Mel" Melchionne, Yuma County Republican Party chairman, said he encourages people to vote, and that the numbers are not a concern.

"I think as long as they are legitimate registrations, it's a great thing," he said. "I have no problem with it."

National data shows Democratic registration increasing more quickly than the Republican base, according to the Associated Press. An AP survey of election officials nationwide found that, as of Oct. 1, the number of registered Democrats had grown by 5 percent since 2004, outpacing the growth between the 2000 and 2004 elections. During the same time, the GOP lost more than 2 percent of its registered voters.

Pundits have estimated that economic concerns and the popularity with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, especially among youths, has aided numbers. A record 126 million-plus citizens voted in the 2004 presidential election, the Census Bureau reported, and that number is expected to increase this year.
Twenty percent of voters cast ballots before election day in 2004. It is unknown if that number will increase.

"If people make comments when they come in, it's about the economy," Marin said. "There seems to be more of an interest because of that. This one people don't want to miss."

People wishing to vote before Nov. 4 without filing an early ballot can do so at the Yuma County election offices, 198 S. Main St.

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Matt Keller can be reached at mkeller@yumasun.com or 539-6857.