Local voter registration up from 2016

By Christine Haines

chaines@yourmvi.com

Voter registration is higher today than it was for the 2016 presidential election in most of the four-county region. 

“It’s one of the parts of the state that’s getting a lot of attention. The voter registration is interesting, with the Republicans up and the Democrats down,” said Dr. Daniel Mallinson, assistant professor of public policy and administration at Penn State University-Harrisburg.

Only Fayette County is showing a lower overall voter registration from four years ago, though there are more registered Republicans in Fayette County as of Oct. 26 than there were on Nov. 8, 2016. 

There are currently 82,422 registered voters in Fayette County compared to 83,852 four years ago. Of the current registered voters, 39,861 are Democrats, 34,512 are Republicans and 8,029 either list no affiliation or a third party affiliation. 

Four years ago in Fayette County, there were 48,602 Democrats, 22,932 Republicans, and 7,327 listed as other, for a total of 83,852. Republican registration has grown by more than 4,500 voters in Fayette County since June 2, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State’s voter registration statistics. 

Mallinson said the drop in registration is most likely due to a decrease in population, since people who feel alienated from their political party rarely take the time to officially remove themselves from being registered to vote. More telling is the increase in Republican registration in less than five months. 

“If they truly are new voters, they will help Trump,” Mallinson said.

To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Friday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.