Deadline to register to vote in state is today California Many county offices will extend hours for late registration rush

For people who want to vote in the Nov. 4 presidential election, it has come down to two choices for voter registration: Now or never.

Today is the last chance for California residents to register, and most county election offices will be open late for would-be voters pushing the deadline to the limit. Registration cards that are mailed can be received after the deadline, as long as they are postmarked by midnight tonight.

While presidential elections almost always attract the most voters, the 2008 contest between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain already looks like it will bring an unusually high turnout.

As of early September, about 16.2 million of California's 23 million eligible voters had registered. But there has been a flood of new registrations since then, with the secretary of state's office often receiving as many as 20,000 to 30,000 a day.

"People who have been in this office through a dozen election cycles say they've never seen this volume of registration cards," said Kate Folmar, a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Debra Bowen.

In September, Democrats had an 11.6 million registration edge over Republicans, widening the 8.2 million-voter lead the party had four years ago.

Democrats have taken the registration lead in a handful of traditionally Republican-leaning California counties this year, most recently in San Bernardino County.

"Things are looking good, but we're not stopping," said Art Torres, chair of the state Democratic Party. "We're seeing energy that we didn't see in 2000 and 2004."

The state Republican Party has registered more than 100,000 new members since the June primary and has spent more than $1 million on registration efforts, said Hector Barajas, a party spokesman.

"We've been signing up 9,000 to 10,000 a week," he said. "But numbers don't vote, people vote, so we have to get people to the polls."

Voters must register in the county where they live. Many counties allow voters to check the status of their registration on the election department's Web site.

There are few requirements to register to vote. People must be American citizens who will be 18 years old by election day and not in prison or on parole for a felony.