Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

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October 6, 2008

‘Swamped’: SW.Va. sees late surge in voter registration

By CHARLES OWENS

TAZEWELL, Va. — A last-minute surge in new voter registrations was reported Monday across Southwest Virginia.

“We have been swamped,” Tazewell County Registrar Debbie Barrett said. “The phone has ringed off the hook, and people keep coming in.”

Barrett said 1,203 new voters have been registered in Tazewell County so far this year. That includes several hundred new applications since September.

Although the deadline to register to vote in Virginia expired Monday, Barrett said applications received by mail that are postmarked with Monday’s date will still be processed.

“A lot of them are new (voters),” Barrett said. “Yes, we are glad. We want everybody to vote. We are glad they are doing it.”

The voter registration office at the Bland County Courthouse also was bustling with activity throughout most of the day Monday.

“It’s been wild all day long,” Bland County Registrar Stacy Grady said. “I’ve been busy since the minute I walked through the door. And then a trip to the post office produced quite a bit more (voter registration forms).”

Grady said several dozen new voter registration forms were processed throughout the day Monday. Grady said folks of all ages were registering to vote.

“I’ve probably had as many middle to elderly aged as I’ve had young voters,” Grady said. “I know the push is 18-to-24-year olds. I’ve seen that but nothing out of the ordinary”

Grady said between 150 to 160 new voters have been registered in Bland County in recent weeks. Grady said the numbers were good for Bland County.

“I absolutely love to see all of these people coming in and taking an interest,” Grady said.

A smaller but steady number of last-minute voter registrations was reported in Buchanan County.

“I’ve had several phone calls,” Buchanan County Registrar Vicky Clevinger said late Monday afternoon. “So I look for another three or four to show up.”

Clevinger said several of the new voter registrations in Buchanan County have been young people.

“A lot of them are young people - the ones who have been coming in,” Clevinger said. “We have had a few older, but most of them have been younger. The 18-and-19-year olds.”

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com

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