NYTimes: GOP Drops While Dem Voter Rolls Grow Across U.S.

NYTimes.com, "Well before Senators Barack Obama and John McCain rose to the top of their parties, a partisan shift was under way at the local and state level. For more than three years starting in 2005, there has been a reduction in the number of voters who register with the Republican Party and a rise among voters who affiliate with Democrats and, almost as often, with no party at all.

Voting experts say the registration numbers may signal the beginning of a move away from Republicans that could affect local, state and national politics over several election cycles. In several states Democrats have surprised their own party officials with significant gains in registration." Read the Full Story

This is a trend that has also been observed in traditionally Republican Collin County. During the 2008 Democratic Primary more people voted on the Democratic Primary Ballot than voted for John Kerry (68,935 votes for Kerry) in the 2004 Presidential general election. More than 20,000 people attended the Democratic Party's 2008 Precinct Conventions on March 4th all across Collin County and approximately 4,000 people attended the Democratic Party's 2008 County Convention in Collin County.

There are likely several factors that explain this progressive shift in Collin County. Part of the shift may be explained by Republicans loosing faith in their party leaders. More than half of Republican voters now believe that their Republican leaders, who have controlled America's direction for more than eight years, have taken the country down the wrong track (55%), up from 51% in June, according to a July 2008 Reuters/Zogby national poll of likely voters.

Another part of the shift may be explained by the dramatic population growth across Collin County and the voter demographic shift such growth engenders.

Collin County Historical Populations
Census	Pop.	%±
2008~	758,500	+8.5%
2006*	698,851	+11%
2004*	625,000	+27%
2000	491,675	+86.2%
1990	264,036	+82.6%
* - Estimated ~ - Projected

The county's population in 2006 was estimated at 698,851 with a near 50-50 split of males and females. The median age was 33.7 years, slightly younger than the U.S. average. The county's population in 2006 was a near 50-50 split of males and females and the median age was 33.7 years, slightly younger than the U.S. average. The education level of the county's 2006 workforce was almost double (47 percent) Texas and U.S. averages, with almost half of those age 25 and older possessing bachelors or advanced degrees. From 2000-2006, about 43,000 workers holding bachelor's degrees and 23,000 workers holding higher degrees moved to Collin County. (The current trend has been that younger voters and voters holding college degrees tend to hold more progressive views. . .) The 2006 demographic breakdown by age was:

• 28.70% under the age of 18,
• 7.40% from 18 to 24,
• 37.90% from 25 to 44,
• 20.70% from 45 to 64, and
• 5.30% who were 65 years of age or older.

Of the projected population of 758,500 people for 2008, approximately 540,810 people will be of voting age on election day. Approximately 380,000 people are currently registered to vote in Collin County, so that leaves as many as approximately 160,810 unregistered potential voters. Even if one assumes that 10% of this number are not U.S. citizens, and therefore are not eligible to vote, there are still up to 144,729 unregistered potential voters. Likely a large percentage the unregistered voters are between 18 and 33 years of age -- the age group most open to the progressive message.

From now and until election day all the Democratic Groups around Collin County will be busy registering new voters and campaigning for the party's local and national candidates. Then, starting on the first day of early voting on October 20th and continuing all the way through to the closing minutes of voting on Election Day November 4th all the Democratic Groups will be busy getting people out to vote.

The Democratic Candidates who will appear on Collin County ballots this fall need your help -- They MUST have your help to win here in traditionally Republican Red Collin County!!

PLEASE contact you neighborhood Obama campaign organizer, the Democratic Party of Collin County, the Texas Democratic Women of Collin County, any of the local Democratic candidates' campaign organizations or any of the other Democratic groups active here in Collin County. Look in the left-hand sidebar of this blog page to find all of the Democratic candidates (see - Democratic Candidates '08) running for office in Collin County that need your help.

PLEASE VOLUNTEER to help Get Out The Vote (GOTV) in this "Change'08" election year!!