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Independent Voters Outnumber Republicans In California

SACRAMENTO (AP) -- Republicans are now the third largest bloc of voters in California.

New data released by the secretary of state Friday shows no party preference voters make up 25.5 percent of registered voters while Republicans make up 25.1 percent.

Democrats remain the largest group at more than 44 percent.

More than 19 million Californians are registered to vote ahead of the state's Tuesday primary. That's more than three-quarters of the eligible voter population.

Secretary of State Alex Padilla highlighted the state's new automatic voter registration through the Department of Motor Vehicles as part of the reason for what he characterized as a high registration rate. He also pointed to the state's new mobile friendly voter registration website and updated paper registration forms.

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