Fewer New Voters Than in 2008; Young Voters Lead Way

Secretary of the State Denise Merrill has reported that 45,191 new voters have registered to vote in Connecticut since the beginning of 2012, bringing the total number of Connecticut registered voters to 1,962,905, just a month before statewide and local primaries.   The number of newly registered voters this year trails 2008 figures at the same time;  in 2008 more than 100,000 new voters had registered.  Similar to 2008, however, young voters are the largest group of new voters to register so far in 2012 with 18,952 voters between the ages of 18-29 registering in the last seven months. There is one month to register with either the Democratic or Republican party if individuals wish to vote in the upcoming statewide primary on Aug. 14, when there will be at least 24 primaries for federal and state elections. Primaries will be held for Republican and Democratic voters for the offices of United States Senator, Congress, General Assembly, Registrar of Voters and Probate Judge.

According to the Secretary of the State’s Office, there are 720,161 registered Democrats, 411,062 Republicans, and 817,432 registered as unaffiliated. Among the 45,191 newly registered voters since Jan. 1, 13,851 registered as Democrats, 9,256 registered as Republicans and 21,091, registered as unaffiliated.