Voter registration reaches ‘record’ levels in Alabama

The upcoming presidential election has drawn a record number of registered voters in Alabama, according to the state secretary of state’s office.

The state registered its 3 millionth voter Monday. At this same point in the 2004 presidential election period, there were about 2.6 million registered voters, and since last November, the state has registered 403,703 voters.

“These are absolutely record numbers,” said Emily Thompson, chief of staff to Secretary of State Beth Chapman. “We’re attributing that to people who are enthusiastic and excited about joining this moment in history. This presidential election, we’re going to make history regardless of who wins, and I think people are very excited about becoming part of that history.”

The surge of voter registration has hit Houston County as well.

There are now 60,196 registered voters in Houston County, while in 2004 that number was 54,813. Since September alone, 4,641 new voters registered in the county, 48 percent more than registered during the same time frame for the 2004 presidential election.

One of the biggest causes of excitement among voting officials is the “overwhelming” number of voters from the 18-24 age bracket who are registering.

Since this time last year, 108,525 people in that age group have registered to vote.

In Houston County, 2,794 people from ages 18 to 29 have registered since June’s primary elections.

“It is an important demographic for sure, because it shows that young people are excited about this election. It shows there is a groundswell of enthusiasm for the younger generation to be involved at this point,” Thompson said. “A lot of younger people in that age group serve in the military, which is another important factor in elections, so we’re excited about that.”

The secretary of state is expecting a record voting turnout this year as well, Thompson said.

“Secretary Chapman is predicting from 79-81 percent turnout,” she said. “In the last presidential election, we had 72.5 percent turnout, and with our primary turnout being around 40 percent, which was a historical high, we definitely expect at least 79-81 percent of Alabama’s registered voters turning out.”