Gap between registered voters closing

The gap between registered Republicans and registered Democrats in San Diego County has shrunk, it was reported today.

The number of registered Democrats in the county as of Oct. 1 was just over 1 percent behind the number of registered Republicans, according to The North County Times.

Three months ago, the gap between the parties was 2 percent across the county, the newspaper reported.

Democrats currently make up 35.9 percent of the electorate compared to 37.1 percent Republican, according to the Times, which also reported that the number of decline-to-state voters has increased.

There are a total of 1,409,229 registered voters in San Diego County as of the start of this month, the Times reported.

Eligible San Diego County residents have until Oct. 20 to register to vote or change their party affiliations. County registrar Deborah Seiler told the Times that she is expecting as many as 70,000 new voter registration cards from the start of the month through the deadline.