Democrats widen voter registration edge in Suffolk

Suffolk County’s August voter registration figures show that Democrats have a 9,755 edge in voter enrollment over Republicans countywide, up from 5,923 voters in January.

Both parties have experienced growth since the start of the year. Democrats are up from 298,268 voters to 307,409 party members. Republicans have climbed from 292,345 to 297,654.

However, Republican Election Commissioner Nick LaLota sees a silver lining in recent registration figures, saying that 3,014 Democratic voters have abandoned their party since January to join the GOP ranks, while only 1,535 Republicans have switched to become Democrats.

Meanwhile, the number of voters who are not registered in any party also has risen from 240,412 to 246,851 since the beginning of the year. Of those unaligned voters, 7,452 have switched to become Democrats, while 6,005 have joined the Republicans.