‘No Preference’ is fastest growing political party

When the voter registration books were closed prior to the last Presidential Election, a record number of voters – 158,641 – were registered in Santa Cruz County.
The turnout that year – more than 76 percent of registered voters– was the highest since 1984.
This year, one month before the closing of voter registration, the number are at 2008 levels: 148,129 voters.
Elections officials say there always is some kind of a surge in the last month, as voter registration drives hit the home stretch. It’s unclear at this point whether the numbers of voters this election cycle will approach the 2012 levels.
The big election story in Santa Cruz County continues to be the growth of voters in the “No Preference” category.
In every city and district except Scotts Valley, those numbers now exceed the number of voters who registered as Republicans. In effect, “No Preference” is the county’s second biggest political party.
In the San Lorenzo Valley and Scotts Valley, the largest voting district is the San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District, which this year has two candidates who are unopposed. Of the 16,710 voters registered in the sprawling SLV district, more than half – 53 percent – are registered Democrats, compared to just 17 percent Republican, and 23 percent No Preference.
These percentages match up with the county-wide totals, with 57 percent of all voters registered as Democrats, 16 percent as Republicans, and 22 percent No Preference.
In Scotts Valley, Republicans still are the second-largest political party, claiming 27 percent of registered voters. Fewer than half of the city’s 7,653 registered voters are Democrats, 46 percent, compared to 22 percent with No Preference.
These city percentages match up exactly with the percentages in the larger Scotts Valley Unified School District, which has 12,023 registered voters.
The registration deadline is Oct.24. Election Day is Nov. 8.