Voter registration has increased ahead of Tuesday’s general election.

Nearly 80,000 Iowans became active registered voters in the past month.

As of November 1, Republicans have a lead of 173,000 voters over Democrats in Iowa – a slight increase compared to October 1. The number of independent voters in Iowa grew by 25,000 in the past month – with half a million Iowans registered as independent or “no party” voters.

The latest data from county auditors and the Iowa Secretary of State’s office also shows that Republicans outnumber Democrats in each of Iowa’s four congressional districts.

As of Thursday evening, more than 556,000 Iowans had already voted by mail or in person at an early voting site in their county.

story courtesy of Radio Iowa