State gap between GOP, Dem voters shrinks

Republicans still have an edge over Democrats in Arizona - but not as much as they did just two years ago.

New voter registration figures Wednesday show that the Grand Old Party added more than 57,000 people since the 2006 primary. But the Democrats managed to pick up another 110,405 faithful in the same period.

That means Democrats now amount to more than 34.2 percent of the nearly 2.8 million people registered to vote, up from less than 33.5 percent two years earlier. By contrast, the Republicans' share of those eligible to cast ballots slipped from more than 39.6 percent to less than 38 percent.

Still, Republicans maintain a 103,696-voter registration edge.

The Libertarians' share of the electorate remained constant - about six-tenths of a percent - with the Green Party, which was not recognized in 2006, managing to corral 3,467 registrants, giving them slightly more than a tenth of a percent.

And the number and share of those not interested in affiliating with any of these four went up by nearly 94,000. They now total more than 27.1 percent of those who can cast ballots.

That ability even exists in the primary: State law allows independents to ask for the ballot of any party.

Bruce Merrill, who conducts polls for KAET-TV, the Phoenix PBS affiliate, said the last figure is not surprising.

"This is the continuation of this trend that people reject both political parties," he said. Merrill said is particularly strong among those younger than 30.

"At that rate it's only going to be about five years until there'll be more independents in Arizona than either Democrats or Republicans."

But Merrill said what has boosted independent registration in the past may be helping Democrats this year. The reason? What he called "the Obama phenomenon."

"All of the national polls show about 60 percent of the people under 30 are supporting Obama, about 30 percent are supporting McCain," he said.

"To the extent that Obama has generated that kind of groundswell with young people, they're much more likely as they come into the system to register Democratic than Republican."

Even in Maricopa County, the home of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and traditionally a GOP stronghold, the Democrats outhustled their Republican counterparts in signing up voters.

Republicans managed to add fewer than 19,000 to their rolls in the state's largest county. Democrats boosted their registration by almost 62,000, with nearly 50,000 new independents.

In traditionally Democratic Pima County, the party added 25,000 new members against about 13,500 for Republicans. And the number of Libertarians in the second county actually slid.

Merrill, however, said all the voter registration activity by the Democrats won't necessarily translate into better outcomes at the polls.

He said the party has a long history of going out every presidential year and signing up lots of new voters, especially in the state's Hispanic community.