STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, FEB. 27, 2012……Massachusetts heads towards its March 6 presidential primary with about 80,000 fewer registered voters than October 2010, a month before the last statewide election.

Figures released Monday by Secretary of State William Galvin, the state’s top elections official, show 4,111,128 registered voters as of Feb. 15, 2012 - the deadline to register to vote in the presidential primary - compared to 4,190,907 on Oct. 13, 2010. That’s a 1.9 percent decline.

The number of registered Democrats dropped by 53,095, or 3.5 percent, over that 16-month period.

There were 8,367 fewer registered Republicans on Feb. 15, down 1.8 percent from October 2010.

But Democrats continue to hold a major advantage over Republicans in Massachusetts, accounting for 35.9 percent of registered voters compared to 11.35 percent for the GOP.

Registered Democrats in Boston total 194,673, more than the combined total of registered Republicans in eight Massachusetts counties, not including the two smallest - Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.

Unenrolled voters continue to constitute a majority of all registered voters in Massachusetts, accounting for 52.2 percent of the registered pool, up from 51.6 percent in October 2010. The number of registered unenrolled voters dropped by 17,732, or 0.8 percent, over the 16-month period.

A Suffolk University poll of 600 registered Massachusetts voters taken between Feb. 11 and Feb. 15 showed former Gov. Mitt Romney was the choice of 64 percent of likely GOP presidential primary voters, followed by Rick Santorum at 16 percent, Ron Paul at 7 percent and Newt Gingrich at 6 percent. President Barack Obama held a 53-39 advantage over Romney in a head-to-head match, the poll found.

Galvin spokesman Brian McNiff attributed the decline in registered voters to individuals who have died and others who have moved. He predicted registration numbers will grow as the fall elections near, especially since it’s a presidential election year.

“You’ll see it pick up,” said McNiff.

Democrats hold their biggest registration advantages in Suffolk County, where they make up 54.4 percent of registered voters, followed by Hampden (39.2 percent) and Berkshire (37.2 percent). In major Hampden County cities like Chicopee, Holyoke and Springfield, Democrats vastly outnumber Republicans – there are 45,961 registered Democrats in Springfield, for instance, and 7,591 Republicans.

Republicans make up 16.5 percent of registered voters in Barnstable County, 15.8 percent in Nantucket, 13.7 percent in Plymouth County and 13.2 percent in Hampden County. But even within Barnstable County, registered Democrats still outnumber registered Republicans in every community. And in Sen. Scott Brown’s hometown of Wrentham, Democrats slightly outnumber Republicans, 1,490 to 1,442.

Republicans account for only 6.8 percent of registered voters in Suffolk County and 8.9 percent in Hampshire County, where six communities feature fewer than 100 registered Republicans.

As a percentage of all registered voters, Democrats accounted for 35.9 percent on Feb. 15, compared to 36.5 percent in October 2010, while Republicans made up 11.35 percent of registered voters on Feb. 15, up from 11.33 percent in October 2010.

The new registration figures feature detailed on town-by-town breakdowns that will likely be of interest to incumbents and challengers competing in this year’s state House and Senate and Congressional races, which will unfold in districts redrawn to reflect population shifts recorded in the 2010 Census.

The full details are available at: www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/2012_PP_Party_Enrollment.pdf.