Contact:
Warren Slocum
Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
Phone: (650) 363-4988 Fax: (650) 363-1903 E-mail: wslocum@smcare.org

Aternate:
David Tom
Phone: (650) 312.5222 E-mail: dtom@smcare.org

Voter Rolls Increasing in Anticipation of 2008 Presidential Primary

Registrations have so far increased seven percent over the 2004 Presidential Primary; registrations without party affiliation increase by 23.5 percent

Redwood City, CA – As the Feb. 5 Presidential Primary draws near, the San Mateo County Elections Office is seeing voter rolls increasing over the last presidential election cycle four years ago.

At about this time four years ago – in advance of the March 2004 Presidential Primary – there were 326,982 registered voters in San Mateo County. As of Dec. 7, there were 351,351 registered voters in San Mateo County, a seven percent increase. The Elections Office is required by the California Secretary of State to compile and submit statistics that reflect voter rolls 60 days prior to statewide, primary and general elections.

Anecdotally, officials at the Elections Office at 40 Tower Road in San Mateo say that in November and early December they were receiving about 156 voter registration cards a day. Four years ago at about the same number of days in advance of the 2004 Presidential Primary, they were receiving about 114 cards a day. The daily average has slowed down somewhat in recent days – likely due to the holidays – but officials anticipate it will pick up again after the New Year.

“This increase in voter registration is likely a sign of increased interest in the 2008 race for the presidency,” San Mateo County Chief Elections Officer Warren Slocum said. “This Presidential Primary is unlike any that we’ve had before. Voters will have more diverse choices for their party’s presidential nominations than ever. I believe every voter understands the importance of their voting choices this year, and I expect a strong voter turnout.”

The Elections Office is also seeing a notable increase in the number of registrants choosing not to affiliate with any political party. Called “Decline to State” or nonpartisan, this group of voters has grown by 23.5 percent since this time in 2004. There were just 65,789 Decline to State voters registered 60 days prior to the 2004 Presidential Primary; now there are 81,256.

Each qualified political party in California has the option of permitting Decline to State/nonpartisan voters to participate in their party’s presidential primary. For the Feb. 5 primary, only the Democratic and American Independent parties have opted to allow Decline to State/nonpartisan voters to vote their ballot.

There has been a seven percent increase in the number of registered Democrats (from 162,142 for the 2004 primary to 173,839). Meanwhile, Republican registration in San Mateo County has declined since this time four years ago by 3 percent (from 85,829 for the 2004 primary to 83,229).

San Mateo County residents have until Jan. 22 to register or re-register if they wish to vote in the 2008 Presidential Primary on Feb. 5. You must re-register to vote if you change your address, change your name or wish to change your political party affiliation.

Voter registration forms are available at the Elections Office (at 40 Tower Road in San Mateo or 555 County Center in Redwood City), public libraries, U.S. post offices, city and county offices and the Department of Motor Vehicles. Forms are also available online from the Secretary of State’s Web site at http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_vr.htm. You may also call the Elections Office at (650) 312-5222 to have a form mailed to you.

To view the California Secretary of State’s official reports of registration, visit http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_u.htm or view San Mateo County’s most recent report of registration at http://www.shapethefuture.org/documents/dynamic/WEB_SMVoterReg.html.