California voting results and pundits always say "California is a "deep blue" state. But Republicans and Independents actually make up the majority of the registered voters.

How is that "deep blue"? Only voting tallies are "deep blue." Not registered voters.

"California counts 23.15 million registered voters, reflecting a record 84.8% of the eligible population. The Democratic Party is roughly 45%, followed by independents (No Party Preference) at nearly 23%, and Republicans at 25%.:

"Often referred to as No Party Preference (NPP) or "decline to state," independent voters form a larger bloc in California than the Republican party.

"Minor Parties: Out of the minor parties, the American Independent Party is the largest with over 930,000 registered voters.

"Historical Trends: Republican registration has stabilized around 25% after years of decline, while the share of Democrats and Independents has seen slight proportional shifts in recent cycles."

AI summary citing https://www.ppic.org/publication/california-voter-and-party-profiles/

"Independent likely voters are far more likely to be moderate (51%) than liberal (29%) or conservative (21%). In contrast, 22% of Republican likely voters say they are moderate (76% conservative, 2% liberal) and 31% of Democratic likely voters describe themselves as moderate (64% liberal, 5% conservative)."

https://www.ppic.org/publication/california-voter-and-party-profiles/