Wow! The state of Virginia added 283,000 NEW Voters this year! Although the state doesn't break down by party ID, the underlying methodology bodes well for Democrats in November.
From WaPo:
Counties that have voted Republican recently are registering much lower percentages of voters, the statistics show.
In addition, 62 percent of new voters are younger than 35, and 42 percent are younger than 25, according to the state numbers.
Since Virginia does not break down registration numbers by party affiliation, we can't really know how many of these registrants are Democrats. However, the fact that 62% (175,000) of these new voters are under the age of 35, and 40% (113,000) are under the age of 24 really bodes well for the Democratic side, since Obama leads in these age groups in national polls by pretty solid margins.
Add to that, the fact that the biggest gains are coming from the heavily Black communities of Norfolk and Richmond, which means that the Black vote will be energized this year. Vote totals in Republican districts had the slowest growth, which is consistent with data in other states.
Of course, this is not news--the Obama campaign has been racking up extensive voter totals all over the country. But these numbers in VA, already a close state, might certainly swing the state Blue.
HOWEVER, we can't get too happy. There were significant gains in voter registration in 2004, however the state still went for Bush. There seems to be a disconnect between voters being registered and voters actually showing up at the polls on Election day. We need to stress early voting for those who have just registered, especially for those in the Black Community who may be working multiple jobs or do not have transportation. A serious GOTV effort needs to be made, and hopefully its in the works.
Update: VA Expecting MORE new Voters! They are running out of Voter Registration Forms!
Virginia elections officials have ordered an additional 200,000 voter registration forms because of shortages in some parts of the state and an expected crush of new registrants over the next three weeks.
[...]
"We are definitely seeing increased demand, but this is a presidential election year," said Nancy Rodrigues, secretary of the State Board of Elections. She noted that 250,000 registration forms normally last an entire year. "We are getting to the end of our pile, which his why we are being proactive in getting more printed."