Tuesday is deadline to register to vote

Voter registration in Douglas County closes at the end of the day Tuesday.

Deputy of Elections Benjamin Lampe said that the Douglas County Clerk’s office will be open until 7 p.m. Tuesday for in-person registration. Anyone wanting to register just needs a valid address. The registration form can be found through douglas-county.com and can be faxed to 832-5192 or emailed to elections@douglas-county.com.

Online registration through the Kansas Department of Revenue’s website will be open until just before midnight Tuesday.

Residents can also check whether they’re registered through the county clerk’s website on douglas-county.com. Lampe said that people who have changed their names or address since last voting will need to re-register.

According to information from County Clerk Jamie Shew, 77,656 people were registered in Douglas County as of Friday. Of those, 35.4 percent are registered as unaffiliated, 34.6 percent as Democrats and 29 percent as Republicans. Shew said that 2,597 people had signed up since August.

In November 2008, 83,444 Douglas County residents were registered and 53,798 turned out to vote, the highest-ever turnout for an election here.

Shew said that the numbers confirm the anecdotal experience in his office that registration is much lower this presidential election cycle, though many showed up in the last few days before the cutoff to register in October 2008.