Young voters here register to vote in record numbers

Barack Obama’s surge to frontrunner status in the Democratic presidential sweepstakes has touched a nerve with young voters in the Chicago area: They’re registering to vote in record numbers.

In the six days since Obama’s decisive victory in the Iowa caucuses, upwards of 10,000 people registered to vote in Chicago, figures seldom -- if ever -- seen for a presidential primary.

On Sunday alone, 200 people showed up to register at the counter of the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners’ office at 69 W. Washington. On Monday, there were 1,600 new registrations there.

The regular deadline for registering to vote in the Feb. 5 primary was midnight Monday, but eligible Illinois residents have until Jan. 22 if they go to their local election authority’s office and cast a ballot at the time of registration.

“Two-thirds of the people registering these last six days have been 32 and younger — some as young as 18. If you talk with these younger voters, they’re making direct reference to a history-making election and Barack Obama,” said election board spokesman Jim Allen.

“We have these for general elections. But, we’ve never had a rush like this for a presidential primary. People are saying the only time they can remember anything like this is when John F. Kennedy was running” in 1960.

Mayor Daley, who climbed aboard the Obama bandwagon more than a year ago, said he has no doubt what’s causing the surge or newly-registered voters.

“Very simple. Sen. Obama running from Illinois as a presidential candidate. That’s a major factor,” the mayor said.

The surge is not confined to the city.

County Clerk David Orr said Obama appears to have touched a similar nerve in suburban Cook County.

On Monday, 557 people registered to vote at the clerk’s downtown and five suburban offices. There were 800 more registrations by mid-day Tuesday. That’s three- or four-times higher than the same period four years ago.

“I definitely see a surge — a significant surge. Part of it is young people and clearly a lot of it is Obama. But, it’s also press coverage of Iowa and New Hampshire that’s reminding tons of people. There’s something very powerful with this focus,” Orr said.

Another factor may be the timing of this year’s primary. In the past, the presidential nomination has been nailed down before Illinois’s mid-March primary.

This year, the primary was moved to Feb. 5. Illinois is part of “Super-Duper Tuesday” that’s expected to decide who the presidential nominees will be.