Voting is surging, getting 'crazy'

WASHINGTON — From Florida to Utah, Americans are already streaming to the polls to cast ballots in what is expected to be the most scrutinized election in the nation's history.

Oregon, Nevada and Colorado — all battleground states where every vote counts in a tight presidential race — are already investigating allegations of voter registration fraud. And in Ohio, a man is under investigation for filling in more than 100 fraudulent registration forms in exchange for cocaine.

Malfunctioning computers in Florida, not to mention voter lists missing the names of absentee voters, has marred the debut of the new electronic voting system there. And lawyers are already lining up with legal briefs.

And while Utah has so far escaped controversies happening elsewhere in the country, state and local election officials are working overtime to process what some say are record numbers of voter registrations and absentee ballots.

"It's gone absolutely crazy," state elections chief Amy Naccarato said in a telephone interview. "I'm sure it's a record."

As of Tuesday, 1.2 million Utahns had registered to vote — 69,000 more than in the 2002 general election. And voter registration continues through Monday at county clerks' offices around the state, and Friday and Monday at satellite registration offices (go to www.voterlink.utah.gov)

"Voter registration is substantially up this year," said Kris Swensen, elections coordinator in Utah County. "There's a huge increase."

Swensen said the county has received 2,000 registration forms a day, compared to 500 a day in the last election.

Just last week, the Salt Lake County Clerk's Office received more than 34,000 mail-in voter registration forms. Hundreds more people have come to the office personally to register.

"We have just been bombarded," County Clerk Sherrie Swensen said. "It's bigger than anything we've ever seen. We've got every available person inputting the information into the computers. . . . It's going to be an amazing turnout, I think."

Both Weber and Davis counties have had to hire four temporary workers to handle the increased workload.

"I've asked a number of people who've come in to register what has stimulated their interest this year, and I got a different answer from almost everyone," said Davis County Clerk/Auditor Steve Rawlings. "For some, it's the presidential race, for others it's the governor's race or the propositions."

With voter interest running high, Naccarato expects as many as 75,000 new voters by the Nov. 2 general election.