"We're swamped," Flood of New Voters Signing Up

[G_j]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4519662,00.html

Flood of New Voters Signing Up

Tuesday September 28, 2004 9:16 AM


By ROBERT TANNER

AP National Writer

New voters are flooding local election offices with paperwork, registering in significantly higher numbers than four years ago as attention to the presidential election runs high and an array of activist groups recruit would-be voters who could prove critical come Nov. 2.

Cleveland has seen nearly twice as many new voters register so far as compared with 2000; Philadelphia is having its biggest boom in new voters in 20 years; and counties are bringing in temporary workers and employees from other agencies to help process all the new registration forms.

Nationwide figures aren't yet available, but anecdotal evidence shows an upswing in many places, often urban but some rural. Some wonder whether the new voters - some of whom sign up at the insistence of workers paid by get-out-the-vote organizations - will actually make it to the polls on Election Day, but few dispute the registration boom.

``We're swamped,'' said Bob Lee, who oversees voter registration in Philadelphia. ``It seems like everybody and their little group is out there trying to register people.''

..more..

[Jacobin]

1. That is good news

With any luck, people who haven't been in the process are freaked out enough by SmirkCo that they will vote this year.

[Spiffarino]

2. From North Carolina, more good news

According to the State Board of Elections, 100,245 new voters were registered between July 1, 2004 and September 1, 2004. Of those, 40,552 registered Democratic, compared with 33,254 for the Republicans. 26,056 people registered unaffiliated.

The 7,298 more North Carolinians who registered as a Democrat in the last two months spanned across the state. Democrats out-registered Republicans in each of the state's seven most populous counties:

1. Mecklenburg 4,274 D; 2,841 R
2. Wake 8,440 D; 3,734 R
3. Guilford 1,691 D; 1,094 R
4. Forsyth 893 D; 729 R
5. Cumberland 1,273 D; 1,013 R
6. Durham 5,037 D; 1,038 R
7. Buncombe 1,281 D; 789 R

[leftchick]

3. That is such great news!

made my day! :)

[G_j]

6. as a resident of Buncombe county

it is good to hear we have registered this many.
There are also many places of business here that have voter registration forms available by the register.

Buncombe Co. also voted Kucinich in the primary and gave him one delegate.

[Wind Dancer]

16. Great news!

Thanks for sharing this info, gtrump.

[liberal N proud]

4. Simple fact is, the more people that vote, the better the chances

that we can beat shrub and his allies in Congress.

[VOX]

5. Good news.

Kick. :kick:

[molly]

7. And these new voters are not in any polls

these people are motivated by anger and fear.

[G_j]

8. is this true?

Do newly registered voters gets missed in the polling?

[kerry-is-my-prez]

13. They are NOT in the "likely" voters category & prob. not on the reg. list

Likely voters are people who have voted in the past. I suspect that these newly registered people are also not in the registered voters list yet.

A lot of the polls use "likely" voters. A category that is ALWAYS undercountered are black voters. I'm not sure why - it could be that a greater number of the black population might not have phones. Younger votes also tend not to have phones and may have cell phones and the poor often will not have phones or move frequently.

[pstokely]

9. but will they come out on Nov 2

if Gallup shows * ahead by 15 points

[G_j]

10. Gallup is for the birds but

we do need to help remind people and get them to the polls.
Thats what I will be doing.

[Spiffarino]

17. Ditto here

We're following up with every Democratic voter that registered this year to make sure they vote...preferably early.

I say it yet again, we will win NC.

[Borgnine]

11. Yes, but did they sign up with the right brand of pen?

Is the paper the proper weight?

Did they apply enough pressure to the signatures?

Did they sign up at the correct time of day?

[giant_robot]

12. Very good news indeed

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_09_26.php#003524

<snip>
As ND says, the ground game only really comes into play if the election is within a few points, tops. But if it does -- and there's certainly reason to believe this one will -- the ground game can be decisive.
<snip>

I've been saying that voter turnout is going to decide this election for a while now. It seems we may have an edge here.

[cheshire]

14. Hot Damn, F**in A Got to love really pissed folks.

[Wind Dancer]

15. It's amazing what is happening in NC.

I feel so encouraged as each day passes - many volunteers in Wake County too.

Thanks for posting, C_J!

[bigpathpaul]

18. I believe there are probably tens of thousands in each state who are not..

showing up in the polling. My gut also tells me, based on my time on the Internet that there is an amazing groundswell of support for the Democrats. I think it's OK, maybe even better, if we're down in the corporate polls. That keeps us fighting.



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