PENNSYLVANIA State stands to set record for registrations, votes cast

Voter turnout in the state could approach 60 percent on Election Day.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- Pennsylvania is on track to register a record number of voters -- more than 8 million -- and could also set a new state record this year for the number of votes cast in a presidential election.
And analysts say that Pennsylvania's status as a key state in a hotly contested presidential election could drive turnout percentages to levels not seen since Richard M. Nixon won the presidency in 1968.
In the 1960s, the percentage of Pennsylvania's voting age population that actually voted in a presidential election was above 65 percent, state figures show. Pennsylvanians cast a record 5 million votes in the 1960 presidential election, when John F. Kennedy beat Nixon.
The range of issues being debated and all the level of attention candidates and parties are lavishing on Pennsylvania could push turnout toward 60 percent of eligible voters, analysts say. With 9.5 million Pennsylvanians age 18 or above, such turnout would translate into a record in the number of votes cast.
In 2000, when George W. Bush beat Al Gore, 4.9 million Pennsylvanians cast votes for president, or 52.4 percent of the voting-age population. When Bill Clinton was re-elected in 1996, Pennsylvanians cast 4.5 million votes, a post-1960 low of 48.9 percent.
Divisive issues
Voter registration is being fueled by the range of divisive issues in play in the campaign -- terrorism, the war in Iraq and the economy, said Terry Madonna, a political science professor and pollster at Franklin & amp; Marshall College.
"Given the level of interest we're seeing, we think we're going to see a pretty remarkable increase in voter turnout," Madonna said. "The only thing that could negate that is the viciousness of the campaign, but there's no sign of that right now."
Wilkes University political scientist Thomas J. Baldino noted that with polls in Pennsylvania showing a close race between President Bush, a Republican, and Democrat John Kerry, voters have begun to believe their vote could make a difference.
That could change, however, if one candidate opens up a significant lead, Baldino said.
"Those people who registered thinking, 'My vote's going to count' will say, 'Why bother?"' he said.
Even apart from voter registration drives by political parties and advocacy groups, party officials in Pennsylvania say they have seen people seeking out registration forms, or information on how to register.
County counts
Since the state's voter registration clocked in at just under 7.8 million for the April primary, Philadelphia has added more than 70,000 new voters, Allegheny County has added more than 80,000, and the heavily populated Philadelphia suburbs -- Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties -- have added more than 87,000, according to election officials.
The total in those six counties is likely far higher, since some counties haven't updated their count in days or weeks, and all have been scrambling to process an unprecedented last-minute flood of registration applications that have been coming in this week.