Democrats continue to widen voter registration lead in SLO County

Democrats continue to widen their voter registration advantage on the Central Coast, based on the latest state numbers comparing the current voter rolls to one and three years back.

In San Luis Obispo County, Democrats now outnumber Republicans by about 6,400 voters, with nearly 70,000 (37.9%) compared to 63,500 (34.4%) for the GOP. No party preference voters follow at 37,000 (20.3%).

That’s up from about 4,600 voters just one year ago. In September 2020 — ahead of the general election — Democrats in SLO County numbered around 67,000 — or 37.5% of the electorate — while Republicans numbered 62,500 — or 35% of all voters. No party numbered 38,379 or 20.8%.

The latest numbers continue a trend in which SLO County has been moving blue in recent years.

As recently as 2018, the GOP had an edge with 59,000 registered voters compared to 57,000 Democrats and 39,000 registered as no party preference. Since 2018, no party shrunk by 2,000, while Democrats gained 17,500 compared to 12,300 for the GOP.

In 2016, SLO County saw a September count of 55,500 Democrats vs. 61,000 Republicans in San Luis Obispo County — or a spread of around 5,500 in favor of Republicans.

From that time to today — 5 years later — the GOP gained a few thousand voters here while Democrats surged by 14,500.

In neighboring Santa Barbara County — which shares a congressional district with SLO County — Democrats now have a 52,000-vote advantage. Since 2020, Democrats gained 2,700 voters while the GOP gained only 100. Since 2018, Democrats have gained 20,000 while the GOP signed up 4,000 new voters in the county.

The numbers follow similar trends statewide.

The latest California numbers, as of July, show Democrats make up 46.5% of all voters compared to 43.8% in September 2018. GOP registration over the same time has declined to 24.1% of the electorate now compared to 24.5% in September 2018.

Statewide, Democrats now outnumber Republicans 10.2 million to 5.3 million. No party preference voters numbered 5.1 million this year.

Voters now registered as of July 16, 2021, will be eligible for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s September recall election.

This story was originally published August 26, 2021 at 9:00 AM.