NYT: As Deadlines Hit, Rolls of Voters Show Big Surge

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/04/politics/campaign/04vote.html?hp=&oref=login&pagewanted=print&position=

A record surge of potential new voters has swamped boards of election from Pennsylvania to Oregon, as the biggest of the crucial swing states reach registration deadlines today. Elections officials have had to add staff and equipment, push well beyond budgets and work around the clock to process the registrations.

In Montgomery County, Pa., the elections staff has been working nights and weekends since the week before Labor Day to process the crush of registrations - some 32,000 since May and counting. Today is the deadline for registering new voters in Pennsylvania, as well as Ohio, Michigan, Florida and 12 other states, and election workers will go on mandatory overtime to chip away at the thousands of forms that have been arriving daily. To help in the effort, the Montgomery office has also added 12 computers, 15 phone lines and 12 workers from other departments - as well as one of the technicians whose usual job is fixing voting machines at the warehouse.

Across the county line in Philadelphia, overtime and weekend duty began in July to deal with what is now the highest number of new voter registrations in 21 years. The office says it is still six days behind the flow, and the last two days have brought about 10,500 new registration forms. At 204,000, the number of new registrations has already surpassed that of the last big year, 1992, which had 193,000.

"The vote was so close four years ago, people are now thinking, hey, maybe my vote does count," said Joseph R. Passarella, the director of voter services in Montgomery County. Al Gore won in Pennsylvania in 2000 by 204,840 votes.

Officials across the country report similar patterns.

[ailsagirl]

1. Surge in new voter registrations

I think that's fantastic!! I read in the NY Times that in Ohio, there is a 250% increase of new voters over this time four years ago. Then Blackwell tried to throw out a ton of new registration forms because they weren't on the right paper. That very same day (Sept 28th), Dems slapped a lawsuit on him. Last I heard, Blackwell had to back off. ;)

I'm sure all of you are aware of this but it so delights me in telling it!! It sounds like a huge groundswell of new people have registered so they can get Dubya the hell out of office!! The Repugs must be very nervous.

I just hope that they're not planning something that could throw the election off. I don't trust them one tiny bit.

ailsa

[Raster]

10. Ok, I'm not going to go on and on about this, however, Blackwell is...

...a black man. Yep, the repuke dude in charge of voting and registration in Ohio is a black man. For clarrification, the repuke working to disenfranchise tens of thousands of presumably minority--hence Democrat--votes is black.

Give me a "T"....

[lovuian]

2. Looks like Michael Moore is getting people out to vote

:bounce:

[crossroads]

3. Or could the debate have played a part on Friday?

It certainly was an eyeopener for those who were on the fence, eh?
:eyes:

[DrBB]

4. Evenly divided between the parties, do ya think?

But the huge gains have come in areas with minority and low-income populations. In some of those areas in Ohio, new registrations have quadrupled from 2000. President Bush won in Ohio in 2000 by 165,019 votes.

As usual, they'd prefer to do the "even handed" thing, but they can't help letting slip on which side most of this activity is happening.

[friesianrider]

5. Same thing here in Berks County, PA...

I'm volunteering there two days a week 6 hours a day to help get these people on the rolls before election day. By law, they have to get them done but in the office they are saying they have no clue how they'll get them in.

Pssst: most of them are Dem regs!!!

[DeepModem Mom]

6. Big story -- leads NYT front-page today --

[catmandu57]

7. My 26 year old stepson registered

for the first time last week, he and his friends have heard rumblings of a draft and they're scared. That, and he's been hearing cuss out the moron* everytime I see him, he's not voting repiggie.

[Frances]

9. Draft

I think that's the word among young people.

That word resonates more soundly among young people than jobs or higher tuition according to someone I spoke with yesterday while registering voters.

[Raster]

11. Yep, that's the word striking fear in millions of 18-27 yr olds.

An additional factor is that at least two Dems in Congress have already started bills through the house that would eliminate almost all deferments and mandate that both sexes are equally drafted. This is basically a shot across the bow at the warmongers, letting them know that this time it would be just the children of the lower and middle classes, but EVERYBODY!!! The way it should be. There should never be another obvious deferment manipulation, like darth cheney's situation, where the deferment rules and regs were played like a fiddle.

[jayfish]

8. "The Last Big Year, 1992, Which Had 193,000 "

Americans can't register fast enough to keep the BFEE out of office. They did it in 92' and they're doing it now.

Jay