DeKalb County is one of many areas across the country who have seen a large increase in voter registration.

A total of 60,818 DeKalb County residents are registered for the 2008 election, said DeKalb County Clerk Sharon Holmes. In the 2004 election, 55,380 DeKalb County residents registered, according to the DeKalb County Web site.

The amount of people who actually vote in the upcoming election could still be lower, said political science professor Barbara Burrell.

Out of the 55,380 residents who were registered in 2004, only 40,882 voted, the DeKalb County Web site said.

Since the February primary elections, voter registration has also increased. Exactly 52,754 DeKalb County residents voted in the primaries, Holmes said. At the time, there were also more voters who requested Democratic ballots, according to a Feb. 4 Northern Star article.

With the upcoming election, only one ballot is available and no other demographics about registered voters are available, Holmes said.

Early voting has also been very popular in the county, similar to its popularity across the country. About 1,500 DeKalb County residents have voted early so far. Early voting is available until Oct. 30.

When Democratic candidates came to NIU to encourage early voting Tuesday, about 280 people voted early on that day alone, Holmes said. About 70 were NIU students, Holmes added.

There is little that this year’s early election turnout can be compared to because DeKalb County has never had early voting in this kind of election, Holmes said. Still, the amount of people voting early is significant.

“To me, that’s a lot,” she said.

Burrell said the large numbers indicate an interest in this election, and also, that people expect long lines on Election Day.

College Democrats President Tony Wadas said he knows of about 7,000 students at NIU who have registered to vote for the upcoming election.

“I am sure that young voters are responsible for well over half of the newly registered voters in DeKalb County,” Wadas said.

Political science professor Matt Streb agreed that young voters could have affected the registration increase.

“It certainly is possible that the increase in registration has come from young people.” Streb said. “The campaigns have targeted registering young people to vote.”

Burrell said young people could be a part of the increase in voter turnout, but said the demographics of new voters could be different depending on the area.

NIU College Republicans chairman Andrew Bogda said the increase is not solely due to young voters.

“I’ve heard people of all walks of life, all age groups and all political ideologies tell me how big the stakes are in this election, and that if the wrong candidate wins the election, the consequences will be dire,” he said.

Streb said he expects an increased turnout this year across many demographics of voters.