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Non-partisan voters increase, last day to register is Oct. 16

KINGWOOD — There has been some change in the numbers of Preston County voters registered to vote since the 2016 election, including more voters choosing the non-partisan route.
Lynette Scott Shahan, deputy clerk at the Preston County Clerks Office, said voter registration numbers are running about average.
“They’ve averaged between 17,000 and 19,000 over the past few years,” she said.
Shahan said the total number of registered voters for the 2016 election was 18,772. Of these, she said 6,140 were Democrats, 8,393 Republicans and 4,234 for other parties. She said the other parties included Independents, Socialists, Constitution and Green party. The numbers for these parties were not listed individually.
Shahan said current numbers show 18,669 registered voters. Of these, 5,678 are registered Democrats, 8,620 are registered Republican and 4,370 are registered in other parties.
“More people are going toward non-partisan. The number registering as independents are increasing,” she said.

To date, the number of registered Democrats is down by 462, Republicans is up by 227, and the other parties have gained 136.
She said the last day to register in the upcoming election is Oct. 16.