New York Times' Fessenden reports, "a sweeping voter" regis. campaign in heavily Dem areas has added tens of thousands of new voters to the rolls in the purple states of OH and FL, "a surge that has far exceeded the efforts" of the GOP in both states, a review of registration data shows. The analysis by NYT of county-by-county data shows that in Dem areas of OH -- "primarily low-income and minority neighborhoods -- new registrations since January have risen 250 percent over the same period in 2000." In comparison, new registrations have increased just 25% in GOP areas. A "similar pattern is apparent" in FL; in the strongest Dem areas, the pace of new registration is 60% higher than in 2000, while it has risen just 12% in the "heaviest" GOP areas. While "comparable data could not be obtained for other swing states, similar registration drives have been mounted in them as well, and party officials on both sides say record numbers of new voters are being registered nationwide. This largely hidden but deadly earnest battle is widely believed by campaign" pros to be "potentially decisive" in the WH campaign. The "precise impact of the swell in registration is difficult to predict, as there is no reliable gauge of how many of these new voters will actually vote. Some experts, though, say that the spike has not been accurately captured by political polls and could confound prognostications in closely conested states". The Hotline September 27, 2004 [more
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