GOP Extends Voter Registration Lead

Ventura County Republicans have extended their voter registration lead over Democrats, reversing a three-year trend that saw large Democratic gains in the county, according to the latest numbers.

A total of 351,921 people have registered to vote in the Nov. 8 election, said Assistant Registrar Bruce Bradley. This is the second-highest number of potential voters in the county’s history after the 1992 presidential election, when 359,236 people registered, Bradley said.

Republicans accounted for 155,468 registered voters in the latest registration rolls, and Democrats 144,791, with the remaining voters signing up with alternative political parties.

Bob Larkin, chairman of the Ventura County Republican Central Committee, attributed the GOP lead to an aggressive registration drive that involved hiring independent contractors to sign up voters.

Larkin said dissatisfaction with the Clinton Administration also helped. “We signed up a lot of crossover voters,” he said.

Meanwhile, Hank Starr, chairman of the county’s Democratic Central Committee, said negative campaigning by Republican candidates has been effective in steering voters away from the Democratic Party.

“This has certainly been a wake-up call to Democrats,” Starr said.