Both parties go after voters on last day of registration

05:51 PM CDT on Monday, October 4, 2004

By Nancy Holland / 11 News

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Monday is the last day to register to be able to vote in the November election, and both parties have gone after voters to make sure they are on the rolls.

The strategies are different, and that may make a difference that reaches beyond the Presidency.

Republicans went looking for Republican voters among Republicans. They bought a list of change of address forms, compared it to voting lists and targeted like-minded voters who had moved.

"The benefit is that it's our responsibility to register voters that are likely to vote Republican. That's exactly what this piece does," says Court Koenning of the Harris County Republican Party.

A sign at Sharpstown Mall reminds Democrats they have only a day left.

The challenge, of course, isn't just getting them to register, but getting them to vote.

"Oh, 100 percent, I will be there. It's important to vote," says Wilford Lute, who just needed to change his address.

By all political predictions, the race between Bush and Kerry is already decided in Texas, with Bush a clear winner.

That hasn't stopped either side from pushing to register more voters because, barring "straight ticket" voters, it is not all about the President.

"No. It's not. And certainly in Harris County it's about, you know, who's your District Attorney. Who's your State Representative, you know -- the whole mess with school finance, which is a State Representative problem," says Ella Tyler of the Harris County Democratic Party.

Both parties claim they have registered thousands of new voters.

There aren't any hard numbers, but analysts say it appears that is accurate and it really is just about equal.

Now it's about getting them to vote.

With registration ending, the phone bank begins working to make sure those voters vote.