Report: State voter registration up locally

26- to 35-year-olds accounting for highest number of voters

The California Secretary of State’s office released its first registration report since the November 2020 election revealing a significant jump in registered voters across the state between 2019 and 2021.

Humboldt County’s registered voter population has climbed from 74.14% to 82.99% of eligible voters since February 2019. The county has seen a 2.96% increase in registered Democrats, a 1.15% increase in registered Republicans, a 0.2% increase in registered American Independents and a 0.70% drop off in the Green Party.

Looking at the age breakdown of Humboldt County voters, there were more 26- to 35-year-olds that voted than any other age bracket at 17.21%. People between 36 and 45-years-old followed closely at 16.72%, 56 to 65-year-olds at 16.48%, 46 to 55-year-olds at 13.28% and 17.5 to 25-year-olds at 11.37%.

Statewide, voter registration increased from 19,978,449 to 22,154,304 or 79.09% to 88.03%. The state has experienced a 3.1% increase in registered Democrats, a 0.5% increase in registered Republicans, a 4.6% drop off in no party preference voters and a 0.9% increase in ‘other’.

San Francisco County reported the highest number of registered Democrats in the state at 62.50% of its voting population. Lassen County reported the highest number of registered Republicans at 55.00%. Humboldt County reported the highest number of Green Party voters at 1.57%, followed closely but Mendocino County at 1.50% and Trinity County at 1.02%.

The largest statewide increases in voter registration since the February 2019 report were all in Southern California. Los Angeles County saw the most significant increase with 397,039 new registered voters.

Humboldt County ClerkRecorder and Registrar of Voters Kelly Sanders did not return the TimesStandard’s request for comment ahead of print deadline.

On Election Day 2020, Sanders told the TimesStandard, “Today is the highest turnout I’ve ever seen.”