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Los Angeles County 4th in new voter percentage statewide
File: Currently, the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk uses an ink-based ballot marking device that was first introduced in the 1960s.
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Maya Sugarman/KPCC
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Los Angeles County saw the largest number of new registered voters since early 2012, the California Secretary of State's Office announced Monday, but that didn't translate into the largest percentage increase.
L.A. County signed up 10.4 percent more new voters, landing California's most populous county fourth statewide.
"While registration has increased since January 2012, so has population. Registration is not keeping pace," Secretary of State Alex Padilla said in a statement.
L.A. County has registered 455,980 new voters since Jan. 3, 2012. Alameda County came in a distant second with 38,857 new voters, followed by San Joaquin, Fresno and Riverside counties.
The largest percentage increase was in Madera County, which saw a 27 percent rise in new registrations, following by three counties who were close: Imperial with 10.6 percent, San Joaquin with 10.5 percent and L.A. with 10.4 percent, followed by Del Norte at 6.6 percent.
It total, 17,259,413 Californians are registered to vote, according to the statement, but that means that 29.8 percent of eligible voters aren't signed up.
"If the election were held today, over 7 million otherwise eligible Californians would be left on the sidelines," Padilla said in the statement.
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Padilla encouraged people to register to vote, as well as asking those who are registered to help.
"Talk to friends and neighbors and encourage them to register. Use social media to encourage others," Padilla said in the statement.
He encouraged those who've just turned 18 and those who've just become citizens to register, as well as reminding voters who've changed their name or moved that they'll have to update their registration.
You can register to vote at registertovote.ca.gov. Read the full registration report from the Secretary of State's Office here.
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