Voter registration has hit a milestone in California. Now 70% of those eligible have signed up. From Sacramento, Jenny O'Mara reports.
California's Secretary of State Debra Bowen says the number of registered voters in the state exceeds 16 million for the first time in 3 years. That's an increase of more than 1 million voters since before the statewide primary 4 years ago and the last Presidential election year. There's been a slight gain in the number of registered Democrats; their number is now over 7 million in the state. The Republican Party lost some of its registered voters: it went from 5.3 million in February of 2004 to around 5.2 million this year. Decline to State or so-called "independent" voters jumped from nearly 2.5 million voters to more than 3.1 million. Bowen acknowledged that many people are already focused on the November Presidential Election but says she hopes the new voters turn out for the upcoming primary on Tuesday.
