More confirmation that this will be a record-breaking year in registration and turnout. Ironically, GW is turning out to be great for democracy, at least at home. Election day registration in Wisconsin could prove key. And in Iowa, the ratio of new Dem voters to new GOPs is 5 to 1, LOL As a special favor to you, I have included the highlights of the article below:
"New voters surge in 8 states
Registration flood could help swing a close election
- Zachary Coile, Chronicle Washington Bureau
Sunday, October 17, 2004
Washington -- Election officials in eight key battleground states report a surge of new voter registrations, leading many to predict a larger-than-expected turnout on Nov. 2 that could tip the balance in a tight presidential election.
"We've never had so much activity," Jan Casto, a senior assistant to the West Virginia secretary of state, said in a remark typical of elections officials across the country. "There is much more interest this time. When you've been through a few elections, you get a sense of the urgency, you can feel it."
Curtis Gans, director of the nonpartisan Committee for the Study of the American Electorate, predicts that 58 percent to 60 percent of registered voters -- or 118 million to 120 million Americans -- will turn out. That would represent a significant increase from the 54 percent, or 106 million, who voted in 2000.
Many states still are processing new voter registration cards; the deadlines to register passed earlier this month. (California's deadline is Monday.) But official figures and unofficial estimates by state election overseers in nine key battlegrounds surveyed by The Chronicle suggest that a broad swath of previously unregistered Americans, especially young voters, have signed up.
In Ohio, perhaps the biggest prize among the swing states this year, just three of the state's 88 counties -- Cuyahoga (the location of Cleveland), Franklin (Columbus) and Hamilton (Cincinnati) -- have reported 361,473 new registered voters.
"The boards of election here in Ohio have been inundated with voter registration forms this year," said Chris Abbruzzese, Ohio's manager of election services. "The voter registration efforts have been remarkable, unprecedented really."
In Pennsylvania, the secretary of state's office expects to report between 8.1 million and 8.2 million registered voters -- up from about 7.7 million in 2000 -- when it releases its final count around election day. Both parties and allied groups have been actively signing up voters, state officials said.
But an analysis by the New York Times in late September found that of the 150 ZIP codes in Florida that had voted most heavily for Bush, new registrations had increased by 12 percent. Of the 110 ZIP codes that gave more than two-thirds of their votes to Democrat Al Gore, new registrations jumped by 60 percent.
Gans said increased voter interest across the nation is being driven by one main thing: the public's passionate feelings for and against Bush.
"It's about George Bush in a variety of ways -- the war on terror, leadership, the economy, (his performance in) the debates, candor," Gans said. "Some of those cut to his side, some cut in the opposite direction."
Clark County, the state's largest county, which includes Las Vegas and tilts toward Democrats, has registered more new voters in the past year -- in excess of 150,000 -- than in the previous three years combined.
"We have had over 100 separate groups in this state over the last several months doing voter registration," said Steve George, a spokesman for the Nevada secretary of state's office.
Nearly 62 percent of registered West Virginia voters turned out in 2000, narrowly backing Bush. Election officials now are predicting a turnout of 75 percent to 80 percent of registered voters.
Wisconsin, which has same-day registration, does not keep statewide figures -- only municipalities keep voter records. But anecdotal evidence suggests a surge of new voters: The New Voters Project, an effort funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts that seeks to register 18- to 24-year-olds, has turned in 140,000 voter registration cards, according to state officials.
Kevin Kennedy, executive director of the Wisconsin State Elections Board, said 69 percent of registered voters turned out in 2000 -- a big jump from 1996, when a lopsided race between President Bill Clinton and Republican Sen. Bob Dole brought out only 57.8 percent of the state's usually reliable voters. In this election, Kennedy is predicting a 75 percent turnout.
In Iowa, officials report picking up 130,000 voters since the 2000 election, for a total of about 2 million. Of the 81,000 voters added since January, 9,412 were Republicans, 50,508 were Democrats, and 20,903 were independents.
URL: sfgate.com |
