By Steve Huffman
shuffman@salisburypost.com
Interest in this year’s presidential election is driving voter registration to an all-time high, and Rowan County is no exception.
As of Monday, there were slightly more than 88,000 registered voters in the county, up considerably from the 82,000 on the books in 2004.
Voter registration for this fall’s general election ends Friday.
“We’ll probably hit 90-some-thousand before it’s over,” said Nancy Evans, director of the Rowan County Board of Elections.
She said from Sept. 5 through Oct. 3, voter registration in Rowan County increased by 1,195 to 88,085.
The greatest number of new voters ó 585 ó during that time span registered as Democrats. Republicans added 268 voters while 342 registered as unaffiliated.
That’s indicative of voter registration statewide. Of North Carolina’s 603,000 new voters, 48 percent are Democrats, 21 percent are Republicans and the remainder are independents.
Across the state, more than 600,000 new voters have registered, bringing North Carolina’s total to a whopping 6 million.
Evans said she’s read that turnout for this year’s election is expected to be exceptionally high as the race for president takes on historic proportions. Come November, the nation will elect either its first black president or first female vice president.
Many feel the Democrats will give Republicans a run for their money in this year’s presidential election, despite the fact that North Carolina hasn’t backed a Democratic presidential nominee since Jimmy Carter’s first bid for the White House in 1976.
Both parties have targeted North Carolina for ads and campaigning, with the state in a virtual dead heat between John McCain and Barack Obama.
Evans said she expects voter turnout in Rowan County to be in the 70 percent range, a measure that hasn’t been reached here since the 1992 election.
In 2004, the last presidential election, 63.51 percent of Rowan County’s registered voters made it to the polls.
“It’s shaping up as one for the record books,” Evans said of anticipated turnout for this year’s election.
Evans said she and other election officials are hoping a great many voters will take advantage of Early Voting, thus keeping the Election Day logjam at the polls to a minimum.
Evans said 4,501 voters participated in Early Voting in this past spring’s primary. In 2004, just over 11,000 voted in Early Voting.
Evans said she hopes as many as 30 percent of all voters casting ballots in the presidential election do so through Early Voting.
“Voters can pick and choose the day they want to vote,” Evans said. “If the weather’s bad, they can wait until another day.”
They can’t wait indefinitely, however. Early Voting closes Nov. 1 and interest in the elections is expected to increase as Nov. 4 draws nigh.
“You may have to stand and wait in line the closer it gets to election day,” Evans said.
This year, there will be five sites throughout the county where voters can cast ballots through Early Voting.
Those sites are:
– The Rowan County Board of Elections Office in the County Administration Building at 130 W. Innes St. Early voting will be available there weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Oct. 16-Oct. 31, and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Nov. 1.
– The East Branch of the Rowan County Public Library, 110 Broad St., Rockwell. Voting will take place weekdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 17-Oct. 31.
– The South Branch of the Rowan County Public Library, 920 Kimball Road, China Grove. Voting will take place weekdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 17-Oct. 31.
– Cleveland Town Hall, 302 E. Main St., Cleveland. Voting will take place weekdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Oct. 20-Oct. 31.
– Headquarters of the Rowan County Public Library, 201 W. Fisher St. Voting will take place weekdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 20-Oct. 31, and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Nov. 1.