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The National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) released preliminary voter registration numbers from a nationwide survey and showed twenty states reporting record numbers in 2008 and total registration up at least 42 million since 2004.

According to the survey (.pdf), at least 185 million (184,746,883) people were registered to vote in this year's general election, an increase of about 42 million voters since 2004. In 2000, the number of registered voters was estimated to be 129.5 million, according to Census Bureau numbers.

The numbers collected were released November 3, the day before the general election, but do not represent final registration figures since some of the numbers were collected before the state deadlines for registration applications (.pdf). Additionally, many states, overwhelmed by the increase in new voters registering, had not finish processing new voter registration applications by the time these numbers were collected, although voters who submitted an application by their state's deadline were entitled to cast a provisional ballot in the election even though they were not yet on their state's voter roll.

The registration numbers also do not include voters who registered at the polls in states that allow election-day registration. Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Wyoming all offer election-day registration. Alaska, Connecticut and Rhode Island have election-day registration for people who want to vote only in the presidential race.

It's unclear if the numbers include voters whose registration status has been challenged under a new federal law that requires states to match the driver's license or Social Security number that new voters provide on their registration application against state motor vehicle records and the Social Security Administration database. Some states, like Florida, flag voters who fail a match, and it's unclear if these voters are included in registration numbers.

North Dakota did not supply any numbers, since the state is the only one that does not require voters to register to cast ballots.

The states with record registration numbers are: Alabama, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia

California has the largest number of registered voters at 17.3 million. Texas is next with 13.5 million, followed by New York (12 million) and Florida (11.2 million).

Early voter turnout numbers for the 2008 election indicate that about 136.6 million people cast ballots. One expert has estimated that voter turnout will figures will be about 64.1 percent.

In the 2004 presidential election, although 142 million were registered to vote, only 122.3 million people actually voted, which was a record high at the time. In 2000, of the 129.5 million registered voters, only 111 million turned out to vote, according to government figures.

This is the first presidential election in which the National Association of Secretaries of State has collected nationwide registration figures, according to NASS spokeswoman Kay Stimson.

See also:

• Voter Registration Databases Could Disenfranchise Thousands

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