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County sees record voter registration Tuesday Oct 11, 2016 at 4:16 PM Oct 11, 2016 at 5:02 PM Damian Mann Mail Tribune @reporterdm A surge in registration will push the number of registered voters in Jackson County to historic levels. "We're completely blowing away our former records," said Jackson County Clerk Chris Walker, who expects registration to surpass 140,000 voters by next week. Most of the increase is the result of the motor-voter law that automatically registers residents when they go to Driver and Motor Vehicle Services. Not all registered voters are expected to cast ballots, with only a small percentage of the motor-voter registrants participating in the May primary, Walker said. "Whether it's the highest turnout remains to be seen," she said. On Tuesday, Walker predicted an 80 percent turnout in Jackson County, which would be similar to the turnout in 2012, the last presidential election year. Statewide, Oregon now has 2.5 million registered voters, a 15 percent increase over 2015, according to the Oregon Secretary of State's Office. Walker said that in Jackson County, 16,724 more voters have registered so far in 2016 compared with 2012, a 14 percent increase. The number of registered voters as of Tuesday stood at 139,094, compared with 122,370 in 2012. Both Republicans and Democrats have made gains in the number of voters registered. In 2012, 40,358 Democrats were registered, compared with 44,985 so far this year. The number of Republicans in 2012 was 45,309, compared with 47,351 in 2016. Non-affiliated voters, or those not registered with any party, have seen the most sizable gains. In 2012, 25,160 people registered as non-affiliated, compared with 36,150 as of Tuesday. All other political parties numbered 17,214 in 2012, compared with 10,608 this week. — Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow him on www.twitter.com/reporterdm.