Gold rush in Santa Clara County leading up to the general election

In the lead-up to the general election, the California Secretary of State has released three reports on voter registration statistics. The latest was the 15-day registration report released on October 22, 2018.  According to this report, there are now 6,014 voters registered with the Libertarian Party in Santa Clara County, a 4.6% increase in just the last 30 days. While there is traditionally an increase in registration this time of year, the Libertarian Party’s growth in registration this year notably exceeds the overall increase in registered voters of only 3.3%.  According to this same report, voters registered with the Democratic Party increased by .2 percentage points, from 43.3% to 43.5%, and voters registered with the Republican Party decreased by 4.1 percentage points, from 28.1% to 24.0%.

The report shows that, of all counties in California, Santa Clara County has the highest proportion of citizens expressing no preference for a political party: as of October of this year, 33.67% of the county is registered No Party Preference, suggesting  that our society’s deep polarization between right wing and left wing factions has alienated a record number of voters.

Libertarian candidates have become increasingly relevant in American politics, with a number of promising races in key states this year. Locally, John Inks has made headlines, as he campaigns to regain the seat on the Mountain View City Council he termed out. In Riverside County, California, Jeff Hewitt is in a heated race for Board of Supervisors. Outside California, other Libertarians, like Ebke in Nebraska, Sharpe in New York, Sarwark in Arizona, Johnson in New Mexico, and Fishman in Massachusetts, have been gaining major endorsements and popular support.

###