AP: Record Pa. Voter Registration Pads Democrats' Edge

[Perky]

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: October 7, 2008
Filed at 12:12 p.m. ET

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Democratic registration has surged by 13 percent and Republican ranks have shrunk by 1 percent as a record 8.6 million people registered to vote in battleground Pennsylvania in the 2008 presidential election.

Last-minute registrations on Monday, the deadline, still have to be counted, but the total released by Pennsylvania's State Department already far exceeds the previous record of 8.4 million set in 2004.

Democrats saw an increase of more than 500,000 new voters in the past year. Republicans saw their ranks shrink by about 28,000.

Statewide, there are now almost 1,170,000 more Democrats than Republicans registered in Pennsylvania. There are at least 4,387,027 Democrats and 3,217,464 Republicans.