Loudoun's list of potential voters grows by 16,000
By Holly Hobbs
Loudoun County added more than 16,000 residents to its list of voters this year.As expected, November's presidential election brought an increase in the number of registered voters in the county compared with previous nonpresidential election years.
“It was very busy yesterday,” said Loudoun General Registrar Judy Brown. She said her office served “pretty much a continuous stream of people.
“It just seemed like it would go on forever,” Brown said.
Even so, Loudoun saw a dip in the number of new voters as compared to previous presidential election years -- voter registration is only up 9 percent; previously there had been double-digit increases in new voters.
A contributing factor to the smaller-than-expected increase could be that the population boom Loudoun experienced in the last decade has begun to level off.
Between presidential election years 2000 and 2004, population in the county rose about 29 percent. From the last presidential election to this year's, Loudoun's population has increased at less than half that rate -- 14.3 percent.
However, handling this year's 9 percent increase is keeping Loudoun's voter registrar's office busy, said Brown. Voter registration closed Oct. 6.
“There's always a spike during a presidential election year,” she said. “It's absolutely devastating here. We're really busy.”
During the last day of voter registration, Brown's office received 134 faxes from voters wanting to change their addresses. Four hundred people visited the office to register to vote. Another 270 registered at the DMV.
The registrar's office will work long hours during the remaining days of this week reviewing voter applications – which could number in the thousands.
In addition to new voter applications, the office will review the 5,000-plus absentee voter applications it has received. When these applications are tallied, Brown said, the number of voters who chose to poll this way will have doubled from the 2004 presidential election.
The general registrar also said workers are expecting record voter turnout in November.
To work the polls Nov. 4, Loudoun County has increased its volunteer workers from 450 last year to 1,200 this year. The increase is dramatic, said Diana Price, secretary of the Electoral Board for Loudoun County.
“We're not full, but we're approaching it,” Price said of the number of needed poll workers. South Riding, she said, is still in need of volunteers for the election.
The increased number of poll workers is not due to just the number of new voters and expected high turnout this year, Price said.
“A lot of people will not work a full day [at the polls] and that makes it more difficult” to fill shifts, she said.
To volunteer to work the polls, call 703-777-0548.
Contact the reporter at hhobbs@timespapers.com