More Democrats than Republicans registered to vote in Florida in May, driven by women and Hispanics, according to state registration data released early by the Democratic Party.
Democrats said they registered 5,108 more voters in May than the Republican Party did, the fourth month in a row the party has led the GOP in new registrations.
The party released the favorable figures ahead of the state, which typically lags in its reporting of the data on its website.
The most recent official tally on the state’s elections website, from April, showed 4.5 million registered Democrats in the state and just under 4.1 million registered Republicans.
But when the May state data is released, the larger story is likely to continue to be that independents are outpacing both parties in recent registration.
The official April state registration report, the last available from the Division of Elections, shows Democrats registered just over 7,000 new voters that month compared to about 4,000 new Republicans.
But the number of no-party voters increased by nearly 15,000 in April, according to state figures, more than double the number of new Democrats. Another 500 or so new minor party voters registered. State figures in April showed 2.3 million Florida voters registered with no party and 342,000 with minor party affiliations.
The GOP regularly dismisses registration figures as meaningless because of the large amount of cross-over voting, particularly in north Florida where many Democrats often vote for Republican candidates.
Democrats, on the other hand, say national politics have pushed women and Hispanics toward the party and also say Republican Gov. Rick Scott’s generally low popularity numbers have helped registration efforts. Democrats say the state figures for May will show their party with a 12 percent registration advantage among Hispanics and a 14 percent advantage among women.
Registration closes July 16 for voters who want to vote in the Aug. 14 primary election. Voters can continue to register until Oct. 9 to be eligible to vote in the Nov. 6 general election.
By David Royse
