One week and counting...

In today's analysis of the not-quite-complete California voter registration figures, Political Data Inc.'s Paul Mitchell notes what he refered to, in an email to me this morning, as "the UC effect." It shows a remarkable surge in registration in the two counties in which UC campuses are major components of the population.

While voter registration increased by about 6 percent statewide over the last two months, two counties reported double-digit increases -- Yolo County, home of the UC Davis campus, with a 13.1 percent increase, and Santa Barbara County, home of UC Santa Barbara, by 11.9 percent.

Reflecting the trend among young voters, the new registrations were heavily Democratic. In Santa Barbara County, 45 percent of the 21,651 new voters were Democrats, while just 16 percent were Republicans. This is of political significance in Ventura County because three districts that include at least some of the west county overlap with the portion of Santa Barbara County that includes the UC campus. Those new voters at UC Santa Barbara -- if they vote -- could make a significant difference in the tightly contested 24th Congressional District and also make Republican 19th Senate District candidate Mike Stoker's longshot campaign against Democrat Hannah-Beth Jackson even tougher.

What accounts for the surge in registrations at college campuses? Clearly, it's the fact that a new online registration system that enables Californians to submit completed registration forms with one click went live in mid-September.

FIRST DOG TO BE IN CAMARILLO: Sutter Brown, the Pembroke Welsh corgi owned by Gov. Jerry Brown and his wife Anne Gust Brown, will make an appearance from 5 to 6 Thursday evening at the Ventura County Democratic Party headquarters in Camarillo.

The event is part of a 30-city tour of the state by the canine that has become a media favorite around the state. County Democratic Party Chairman David Atkins promises that anyone who spends at least an hour making telephone calls supporting Proposition 30 will get to have his or her photograph taken with the corgi.

PROUD TO STAND WITH SPEAKER BOEHNER: As I reported in The Star over the weekend, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia came to Ventura County last week to attend a private fundraiser with 26th Congressional District Republican candidate Tony Strickland, but there was no public notice of the event or opportunity for press coverage.

That was not the case with a fundraiser last night in Santa Barbara attended by House Speaker John Boehner in support of 24th District Republican Abel Maldonado. The Maldonado campaign emailed a press release last night that included a photo of the two together and this quote from Boehner:

"It's time for the Central Coast to have a representative in Washington that's looking out for your interests, and in Abel Maldonado, you will have a Congressman who will vote his district first,"

TWITTER TOWN HALL: 26th District Democratic candidate Julia Brownley will participate in a "Twitter Town Hall" at 7 this evening to discuss women's issues. Organizers are asking participants to use the hashtag #AskJulia or email questions to AskJulia@juliabrownley.com.