(Radio Iowa) -Nearly 80-thousand Iowans have become active registered voters in the past month. As of today, Republicans have a 173-thousand voter registration edge over Democrats in Iowa, a slight increase from October 1st. The number of independent voters in Iowa grew by 25-thousand over 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 shows Republicans outnumber Democrats in each of Iowa’s four congressional districts. As of Thursday night, over 556-thousand Iowans had already voted by mail or in person at an early voting site in their county.