Hamilton County's Voter Rolls Swell In Advance Of November Election

The clock ran out at 4:00pm on Tennesseans and Georgians wanting to register to vote.  The upcoming Presidential election appears to have the interest of thousands of new voters in Hamilton County.

For years, Regina Gann watched politicians come and go.  From Al Gore and John Kerry to George W. Bush, Gann remained content sitting on the sidelines.  "This is the first time it was every really interesting to me, the candidates actually are appealing to me this year," says Gann.

Like hundreds of others, Gann registered to vote in next month's election on the final day.  While some cite issues, like the economy and health insurance, many just want to be a part of a historic race.

At the Hamilton County Democratic Headquarters, voter registration went down to the wire. Party members held several registration drives, agreeing to hand deliver these forms to the election commission.  Volunteer Margie Shorter estimates "at least, maybe 5,000 voters that we've registered to vote."

Not just college students, either, Volunteers registered many senior citizens, including a 100-year old woman.  Shorter says "its really amazing to see the elderly coming out who have not had a chance or have not been participating in the voting process."

Local Republicans took a more passive approach, registering those who made the effort to visit their office, instead of holding drives and going door to door.

Whatever the method, the voter rolls spiked.  Charlotte Mullis-Morgan, Chief Deputy of the Hamilton County Election Commission, says "we're up to over 200,000. Its going to be like 203,000 and we've never had that many registered."

That 203,000 number represents a nearly 10% increase in registered voters just this year.