by Dan Lucas
Republicans have made modest gains in statewide voter registration since the 2010 election. There are almost 8,000 more Republicans, and Democrats have lost 9,000 voters. Small-i independents have shot up by over 70,000 voters. Small-i independents are mainly non-affiliated voters (NAV), but also include voters who belong to minor parties (Independent Party, Libertarian, Pacific Green, etc.)
The statewide Democratic voter registration advantage dropped a full percentage point since the 2010 election, from a 9.6% Democratic voter registration advantage down to 8.6%.
Statewide Democratic voter registration spiked significantly in 2008, and has been declining since. The rate of decline slowed from 2010 to 2012.