Political experts believe the Nov. 4 election could bring a record turnout.

According to the Secretary of State's latest report, the ranks of registered California voters continue to grow. The state has added an average of 12,000 new voters a month since May.

California now has nearly 16.2 million registered voters, close to 550,000 more than it had at this time before the last general election four years ago.

Registration has been on the rise throughout the year, with more than 630,000 new voters registering since January. California has gained almost 48,000 new voters since May 19.

The numbers reflect updates to the voter registration rolls, including removing registrants who have died, moved out of state or have been determined ineligible to vote, as well as the addition of new registrants.

To read the complete report, request a hard copy by calling the Secretary of State's Communications Office at (916) 6536575 or go to www.sos.ca.gov/ elections.