Local voter registration on the rise

By Bernard Baker

Published: September 23, 2008

The hype over this year’s election is paying dividends, according to local election officials.

Registrars in the Danville area

report a notable increase in voter registration – and the deadline isn’t until Oct. 6.

“We’ve got everybody trying to get their neighbor registered,” Danville Registrar Peggy Petty said Tuesday.

Several Republican, Democratic and non-partisan groups are canvassing the city, and their results have paid off.

There were slightly under 28,000 voters in the city on Aug. 21, and that number has increased to 28,393 in less than a month. Petty said there are 400 new city voters since Sept. 8.

“We want people to come in now. We don’t want them to wait,” Petty said. “We’re glad word is getting out.”

Pittsylvania County Registrar Jenny Lee Sanders said the voter rolls have passed 40,000 people, which is up nearly 4 percent.

“A lot of different organizations are doing voter drives from both campaigns,” she said. “A lot of churches and civic groups come in and ask for applications. There seems to be a lot of activity.”

Sanders has mailed 300 absentee ballots to voters as of Tuesday. She said there are 100 pending applications waiting on her desk.

“That’s amazing,” Sanders said.

Petty has mailed 241 absentee ballots to city voters. She said her phone has been ringing steadily with people who have questions on voting and registration.

Mary Jo Henderson, director of the Caswell County Board of Elections in Yanceyville, N.C., said voter registration is up there as well. She said at least 400 new voters have registered since the first of the year.

Registration in North Carolina ends Oct. 10 and in-person voting for One Stop voting runs from Oct. 16-Nov. 1.

Contact Bernard Baker at or (434) 791-7986.