Secretary Of State Website Overwhelmed By People Registering To Vote
DENVER (CBS4) - Coloradans want to make sure their voices are heard and so many people registered to vote on Tuesday the Secretary of State's computer system was overwhelmed.
The deadline is midnight on Tuesday.
As many as 100 people a minute were registering to vote or updating their registration on Tuesday. More Coloradans have registered to vote in this election than ever before -- more than 3.5 million.
As of Oct. 1 there were about 15,000 more Republicans than Democrats registered in the state, but there are more unaffiliated voters than either party.
On Tuesday both sides were out in force registering voters in unprecedented numbers. The Obama campaign sent an army of volunteers door to door. The Romney camp launched a massive phone bank.
"We've got literally thousands of volunteers coming in every day," Colorado GOP Chair Ryan Call said.
In Colorado, Republicans hold an edge in voter registration, but Democrats have been closing the gap.
"I think that the momentum has just gotten incredible," Obama volunteer Sandy McCray said.
McCray credits field coordinators.
"They are tireless, absolutely tireless, and it inspires all of us," McCray said. "Thankfully they bring in really young people because we wouldn't have stamina to do what they're doing."
But registering voters is just phase one.
"This crunch time, right? It's like the two-minute warning of a campaign ," McCray said.
The hard part is getting them to vote.
"We're going to be feet on street, we're going to be knocking on doors, we're going to be making phone calls," McCray said.
"As they get that absentee ballot they're going to get a phone call from us," Call said. "As they get that ballot in the mail they're probably going to get a mailing from us … we're going after every single vote; every single vote matters to us."
Those still having trouble registering online can print a form and fax or email it before midnight on Tuesday.
LINK: Secretary Of State
