County Sets Record for Registered Voters; La Mesa Favors Democrats

Updated at 5:05 p.m. Oct. 31, 2012

Setting a record for registered voters, San Diego County will have about 19,000 more Democrats eligible to vote in the presidential election than Republicans, according to final figures released Tuesday.

The county Registrar of Voters Office says the county had 551,931 Democrats and 532,585 Republicans as of Oct. 30, although many voting districts are safe for one party or the other.

County Republican Party Chairman Tony Krvaric, contacted for comment, replied: “At this point it’s all about GET-OUT-THE-VOTE and we have a massive deployment this weekend and through Election Day.”

County Democratic Party Chairman Jess Durfee told KPBS that he attributed the rise in his party’s voters to the new law allowing online voter registration.

With 1.56 million voters—including a flood of 85,000 new voters since Sept. 30—the county broke the previous record for registered voters of 1.51 million set in November 2004. 

Meanwhile, the city of La Mesa followed the same trend of more Democratic than GOP voters. The final count before the Nov. 6 election shows exactly 12,398 Democrats and 10,765 Republicans eligible to vote—out of a total electorate of just over 32,000.

In the 53rd Congressional District, of which La Mesa is now a part of after redistricting the finally voter tally shows 159,334 Democrats to only 104,633 Republicans. The race is being run by longtime Democratic incumbent Susan Davis, and Republican challenger and Iraqi War veteran Nick "Gunny Pop" Popaditch.

Similarly, in the newly-formed 79th Assembly District, Democrats outnumber the GOP voters by more than 30,000, at 98,110 to 64,124.

The city of San Diego had a Democratic majority of 272,636 to 183,876 Republicans and 186,737 with no party listed.