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Democrats in California have signed up tens of thousands of new voters in recent months, but a big question in Tuesday's election is whether enough of them will cast ballots to stave off erosion of the party's dominance in the state.

The new voters, many of them Latino or Asian, are heavily concentrated in fiercely contested legislative districts in Orange and Ventura counties, the South Bay, and the Antelope and San Joaquin valleys. Fearing that a national election climate favoring Republicans could cost them legislative seats, Democrats dispatched hundreds of troops to register new voters in those areas.

Adding to Democrats' worries have been a lackluster governor's race and a menu of less-than-alluring ballot measures, all but ensuring a low-turnout election which typically draws a disproportionately large share of older white voters who lean Republican.

"There's nothing sexy on the ballot," said Sergio Carrillo, an advisor to Democrat Tony Mendoza in his pitched battle for an eastern Los Angeles County state Senate seat that would normally be out of reach for Republicans.

Most Democrats running for statewide office Gov. Jerry Brown, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris among them appear to have little to fear Tuesday, polls show. The party's secretary of state candidate, state Sen. Alex Padilla of Pacoima, is the one who appears to face the most serious challenge from a Republican rival, Pepperdine University think tank director Pete Peterson.

Democrats are also certain to maintain a strong majority of the state's congressional delegation, although a few of the most hard-fought U.S. House races in the country are in California. Voters in San Diego, Ventura and Sacramento counties have been swamped by mail and other advertising in those contests.

But Republicans are all but sure to maintain their House majority; the question is by how big a margin.

The stakes are arguably higher in the California Legislature. Democrats are trying to regain their two-thirds supermajority in the Senate and maintain the one they have in the Assembly. A supermajority enables Democrats to raise taxes and put some ballot measures before voters with no Republican support, among other things.

Republicans acknowledge the Democrats' heavy investment in registration drives could prove a formidable threat Tuesday but not if the new voters don't bother to cast ballots.

"The biggest obstacle for them remains: Can they get those new voters to the polls?" said Peter DeMarco, a spokesman for state Senate Republican leader Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar).

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Democrats sign up thousands of new voters, but will they cast ballots?