By Corinne Murdock |
The latest voter registration report from Maricopa County revealed that over 5,000 voters switched their party affiliation to “other,” the majority of which were registered Democrats previously. “Other” serves as a catch-all for those who register as Independent, No Party Preference, and any parties not recognized as official parties.
Among those who switched to a party considered “other” were over 2,100 Democrats, over 1,700 Republicans, and over 150 Libertarians, with just over 1,000 individuals switching between classifications within the “other” category.
The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office noted that there were over 2.5 million active voters in the county. 34.5 percent of those belonged to an “other” party, 34.2 percent were Republicans, 30.4 percent were Democrats, and .8 percent were Libertarians.
As of April 1, there were over 21,100 registered voters in Maricopa County who haven’t provided proof of citizenship. The county has retained a similar amount of that kind of voter since October 2020. Prior to October 2019, the number of voters who didn’t provide proof of citizenship totaled just over 9,000 — well under half of the average of current totals.
Total new registrations amounted to just under 14,000: those classified as an “other” party made up over 53 percent of new registrations, while Republicans made up over 25 percent, Democrats made up over 20 percent, and Libertarians made up less than one percent.
In the month of May, the county recorded over 10,500 party changes.
Second to the “other” party changes were those switching to the Republican Party: over 3,100 individuals registered as Republican. Over 2,400 made the switch from an “other” party to Republican, while over 600 switched from Democrat to Republican and under 100 switched from Libertarian to Republican.
The Democrats gained over 2,000 voters: over 1,700 switched from an “other” party, over 300 switched from Republican, and less than 50 switched from Libertarian.
Libertarians had the least gains, numbering just over 160.
These latest voter registration numbers were released just after the Maricopa County Elections Department announced the launch of a new website for voters. The new website will be active next Monday, June 13.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
