As we get ready to cast our ballots in Tuesday's election (though many may have already done this), Patch decided to take a look at the voting population of the area, and compare it to previous election years.
Riverside County now has nearly 1 million registered voters-- 943,405 to be precise. That's up more than 106,000 from the last presidential election in 2008, when it was 837,389, according to data from the California Secretary of State (SOS).
Here in Palm Desert, there are also more people registered to vote than in the last presidential election-- event though that number was slightly less in 2010, data suggests.
There are currently 25,044 voters. That's up from the 24,650 who were registered to vote in 2008, and the 23,811 registered in 2010, according to data.
Major Political Party Breakdown
Riverside County has traditionally been a "red" county, and that trend holds this year, with 40.86% of voters being Republican and 36.37% identifying themselves as Democrat, SOS numbers show.
Those county trends are also true on the local level.
According to the Secretary of State data, the majority of voters from Palm Desert can be broken down as follows:
- 2012 Palm Desert: 7,888 Democrats, 11,538 Republicans
- 2008: 7,730 Democrats, 12,410 Republicans
- 2010: 7,414 Democrats, 11,586 Republicans
Congressional District Changes
Though the county and city are red overall- blue has overtaken the newly-redistricted 36th congressional district.
According to data from the Riverside County Registrar's office, there are 114,406 registered Democrats in the district. That's-- however so slight-- greater than the 114,288 Republicans.
This marks the first time that incumbent Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R, Palm Springs) will seek reelection in an area dominated by Democrats.
