Bryan Thompson, county clerk/auditor, said 80,000 new Utah County voters have registered for this year's election, increasing voter rolls by 44 percent.
"You always get a lot more interest in a presidential election," Thompson said Tuesday. "But this took the county from 180,000 to 260,000 registered voters."
He said part of it might be natural growth combined with interest in the McCain-Obama contest.
Utah County GOP Chairwoman Marian Monnahan said the numbers would have been even higher had former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney made it onto the GOP ticket.
Richard Davis, Monnahan's Democratic counterpart, said the surge appears linked to the presidential campaign, especially the historic possibility of electing the nation's first African-American president.
And, Davis said, it could also mean the Republican grip on Utah County - which last elected Democrats on the state or county level in 1994 - is loosening a bit.
Davis said the numbers Democrats have seen show the party making gains with new voters - 7 percent since September - while the number of new voters registering as Republicans slipped, from 53 percent before Sept. 3 to 44 percent afterwards.
"Four years ago, we had between 6-7,000 Democrats in Utah County. Today, we have over 11,000," Davis said. He suggested Obama might appeal to younger Utah County voters who identify more with the youthful Obama than McCain, who would be the oldest man to ever sworn in as president.
Thompson, the clerk/auditor, said his numbers show all the political parties gaining, with Republicans numbering 134,000 compared to 12,300 Democrats and 110,800 unaffiliated voters.
Monnahan said it's good that people were registering as Democrats and getting involved, but added the important thing is for everyone who registers to vote.
Thompson said that, as of last Friday, 9,000 people have cast early ballots.
