As Deadline Nears, Registrations Soar and Voting Begins

Registrars Expect To Set Records

As the 2008 presidential election enters its final lap, one crucial element remains almost lost amid all the campaigning, ads and back-and-forth: People actually need to vote.

Voter turnout is expected to be high. "The hard numbers are clearly, in my mind, going to be bigger for this election than they were four years ago," said Tom Parkins, Alexandria's registrar of voters. He said Alexandria usually has relatively high voter turnout.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a record-high 126 million people voted in the 2004 presidential election. That year, Alexandria registered 9,417 voters through Sept. 1; through the same period this year, the number is 10,399. "That's a very healthy increase, and they're still coming in," Parkins said. He estimates that number could rise to 13,000 by the deadline Monday.

"I really think this election is going to be historic, both locally and nationally, just in terms of voter registration," he said. "The registrations are just . . . we're keeping up, but we're inundated with new registrations and transfers in from other Virginia localities."

Like Alexandria, Arlington County generally has unusually high voter turnout, according to Linda Lindberg, Arlington's general registrar. And the voter registration numbers in Arlington are phenomenal so far, she said.

"It's really been through the roof this year," she said. "We thought 2004 was a busy year, in terms of registration figures, but the volume this time . . . we've certainly exceeded that with this year's election."

As of Sept. 26, Arlington had 143,400 registered voters. Lindberg said she expects that number to reach 147,000 to 148,000 by Election Day. In 2004, 130,000 people were registered to vote.

Lindberg said the voter registration numbers have picked up: The usual average of 500 voter registrations a month has doubled to 1,000 a month since the February primaries. Since Labor Day, it has increased to about 1,000 each week.

"There's always interest when you don't have an incumbent running for reelection," she said. "This year, the two top tickets have generated interest because they're historic. And, I think this is very key, a lot of young people are registering to vote."

Although specific statistics are not available for it, Lindberg said she and her staff have noticed that many of the applications are coming in with voters born in the 1980s. And she noted that Arlington attracts plenty of transient twentysomethings to its Metro corridors.

Lindberg said that the increase isn't limited to voter registration. Her office started accepting in-person absentee voting Sept. 22, and within five days, more than 500 people had voted.

The Arlington voter registration office is open Saturdays. In 2004, more than 800 people turned out on the last Saturday before Election Day to vote absentee. Lindberg said she expects about 1,200 voters on Nov. 1, the last Saturday before this year's election.