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Mon Mar 24, 11:18 PM ET

Pa Dems set enrollment record

By PETER JACKSON, Associated Press Writer

Democratic Party enrollment surged

past the 4 million mark Monday,
setting a state record on the last
day Pennsylvanians had to register
to vote in next month's presidential
primary.
The figures, which showed modest
declines in the ranks of Republicans
and independents, reflected intense
interest in the race for the
Democratic presidential nomination
and recruitment efforts by both
candidates, Sens. Hillary Rodham
Clinton of New York and Barack
Obama of Illinois.
Since last year's election, which
featured races for judicial and
municipal offices, the number of
Democrats increased by more than
161,000, or more than 4 percent, to
at least 4,044,952. No political party
in the state had previously reached
the 4 million threshold.
Registration in the GOP declined by about 1 percent, to 3,215,478 statewide.
The figures, released by state elections officials, did not include the final hours of
voter registration in the state's 67 counties or mailed-in applications, which will count
as long as they are postmarked Monday.
The largest percentage gains were concentrated in the Philadelphia suburbs and the
state's central region, mostly in counties where Republicans still outnumber
Democrats.
Of the more than 8.2 million Pennsylvania voters, more than 120,000 are people who
were not previously registered to vote.
With four weeks remaining until the April 22 primary, Clinton retains a strong lead
over Obama in Pennsylvania. A Quinnipiac University poll earlier this month showed
Clinton favored by 53 percent of likely Democratic voters, and Obama by 41 percent.
The business of registering Pennsylvanians to vote was brisker than ever in many
counties on the last day to sign up.
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"We had people at the counter long before we opened up" Monday morning, said
Joseph Passarella, director of voter services in Montgomery County, which is among
the suburban Philadelphia counties that have seen large increases in Democratic
enrollment as the nomination battle continues.
Only registered Democrats and Republicans can vote in the primary, which also
includes candidates for nominations for the statewide row offices, Congress and the
state Legislature.
At the Luzerne County elections office in Wilkes-Barre, Director Leonard Piazza III said
the pace Monday was "very brisk," including hundreds of fresh applications dropped
off by the Clinton and Obama campaigns.
"This is more like what we see in November" for general elections, he said.