Voter Registration Is Up In Virginia, And That Could Help Democrats

Voter registration in Virginia is up significantly and political scientists say that bodes well for Democrats as they try to retake the state legislature.

About 111,000 new voters have registered so far this year, according to new data from the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonprofit that tracks election data and statehouse news.

That’s 67% more registered voters than 2015, the last time the entire General Assembly was up for election.

Republicans hold slim majorities, just one to two seats, in both chambers. Democrats hope to repeat the 2017 “blue wave” election where anti-Trump sentiment saw 15 Democrats take seats from Republicans in the House of Delegates.

University of Mary Washington political scientist Stephen Farnsworth attributes the rise in registrations to the high stakes of the upcoming election.

“These narrow majorities create an environment where parties have to compete in all sorts of places,” Farnsworth says. “Part of that is getting as many registered as possible.”

And while Virginia doesn’t register voters by party (and the Public Access Project doesn’t track where voters have registered), Farnsworth thinks newly-registered voters, either those turning 18 or those just moving to the state, will favor Democrats.



https://wamu.org/story/19/07/29/voter-registration-is-up-in-virginia-and-that-could-help-democrats/