Progress Illinois

While the figures are still trickling in, the Democrats' efforts to expand their franchise through voter registration looks like it may provide major electoral dividends this fall. Earlier this month, the blog Edge of the West compiled a rough list of 2008 registrant totals, showing major Democratic gains in swing states like Colorado, Florida, Iowa, and Pennsylvania. On Friday, Talking Points Memo's Greg Sargent gathered some figures from various Secretary of States' offices and came to a similar conclusion. While this data goes back to 2004 -- meaning those who switched parties are included in the total -- the advantage is still notable.

Nevada: Dems increased by 136,047, while Republicans only increased by 55,563.

Florida: Dems increased by 130,632, while the GOP only increased by 392.

Pennsylvania: Dem registration has jumped a surprising 350,738, while GOP registration has plummeted by 205,441.

North Carolina: Since then, Dem registration has jumped 132,194 while GOP registration has only risen 48,894.

Colorado: Dems have wiped away a once-lopsided GOP advantage, with GOP registration now leading the Dems, 1,029,062 to 955,428 -- a lead of 73,634.

New Mexico: Dem registration went up 28,309, while the GOP increased slightly less, 20,587.

New Hampshire: Dem registration has jumped 34,451, while GOP registration has gone up only 1,338.

The numbers compiled by Edge of the West took us through the end of August.  Sargent doesn't make clear if his totals include more recent totals.  Regardless, because it takes the respective Secretaries of State a while to update their figures, we likely won't know the full registration numbers until after the election.

Image used under a Creative Commons license by Flickr user Barack Obama.