Voter registration and requests for absentee ballots are soaring this spring in most of Montana's most populous counties.
Almost without exception, election administrators attribute the surge to the heavy interest in the prolonged battle for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Both the Obama and Clinton campaigns have mounted aggressive voter registration drives.
Registering to vote is one thing. Actually getting people to vote is another. It will be a true test of the Obama and Clinton campaigns' respective organizations to get their supporters to vote.
In Yellowstone County, the state's most populous, 94,485 people had registered to vote by May 5. That up from the slightly more than 89,000 two years ago at this time and the nearly 85,500 four years ago, the last presidential election year. Fifty-two more have registered since May 5.
“I really think it's the presidential race because it's just been in everybody's mind and on television and in the newspaper every day,” said Duane Winslow, the county's longtime election administrator. “Usually at this point, you weren't hearing about the presidential race 24 hours a day.”
Of those, 19,425 have requested absentee ballots, with 12,000 on the permanent absentee list.
“That's gone bonkers,” Winslow said. “It's exploded. This will be the first election where we will have more people vote absentee than at the polling place.”
He added, “I don't care what side you're on. It's kind of exciting to see young people coming in to register to vote.”
In Gallatin County on Friday, a steady line of people snaked around the block where the courthouse is located. They waited to register and then vote.
With Obama speaking in Bozeman on Monday night, his campaign office was giving away tickets. Those people sporting an “I voted” sticker could go to a shorter ticket line.
“People don't realize it's a primary,” said the county's election supervisor, Charlotte Mills. “All they want to do is vote for president.”
Slightly more than 60,000 people are registered in Gallatin, including about 9,500 requests for absentee ballots.
In the 2006 primary, slightly over 10,000 people voted in Gallatin County, while about 13,000 did in 2004.
“So this will be a record- setting primary,” Mills said. “It's the presidential campaign that's driving it.”
In Missoula County, 73,487 have registered to vote so far, including 8,363 submitting requests for absentee ballots, said Debbe Merseal, election supervisor.
“We're definitely busier,” she said, attributing it to the presidential race. “I know the Obama campaign has been out in full force in our county, hitting the streets.”
As of May 5, Lewis and Clark County had 35,347 active and inactive voters, with 379 more registering since then, said Clerk and Recorder Paulette DeHart. About 4,000 have requested absentee ballots.
“I think we are seeing lots of interest, and I think statewide, we will see the numbers shoot through the roof,” DeHart said. “There's lots of action behind the scenes to get people to vote and to vote early.”
She said attributed the upsurge to the presidential race, adding: “To get them to vote is a wonderful thing.”
In Cascade County, election administrator Debbie Mart said the registration number hit 51,931 on May 5, with 47 more registering since then. The number of requests for absentee ballots has hit 16,103.
“We're starting to wonder if anyone's going to be left to vote at the polling place,” she said.
Mart said the absentee requests are higher for several reasons: the presidential primary, construction around the courthouse and the fact that the office sent out the wrong envelope in the school election allowing people to check a box to be on the permanent absentee list.
So far, only 4,000 absentee ballots or one-fourth of the total requested have been returned.
“People are holding onto them,” she said, speculating that it might be because they were waiting to see who won last week's Democratic presidential primary in West Virginia. “People say, ‘We haven't decided yet.' ”
In Flathead County, the election rolls had 54,775 active and inactive voters as of May 5, with 118 registering since then.
Included are 4,929 absentee ballots, said Monica Eisenzimer of the election office. That's up from normal, but not a lot, she said.
Of course, it doesn't matter how many people register to vote. It's only those who show up to vote who decide the outcome of elections.
Recent primary election turnouts have not been high in Montana, according to statistics from Secretary of State Brad Johnson's office.
In 2006, the primary turnout was 34.3 percent, compared with 37 percent in 2004, 29 percent in 2002 and 33.3 percent in 2000.
As of Wednesday, the voter list compiled by the secretary of state's office included 626,725 active, inactive and pending voters. An inactive voter can move to the active category by registering and voting.
If you want to vote but haven't registered yet, you can still do it up through Election Day on June 3. You must register and vote at your county courthouse, and you can do both in one fell swoop.
Although the Democratic presidential primary is the race generating the buzz, there are plenty of other contested statewide and local races in both the Republican and Democratic primaries.
It sound like a cliche, but it's true. Your vote could make the difference.
Charles Johnson is chief of the Lee Newspapers State Bureau in Helena. He can be reached at (800) 525-4920 or (406) 443-4920. His e-mail address is chuck.johnson@lee.net .
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