The Romney and Obama campaigns have spent months signing up voters in hopes of winning the edge in this crucial battleground state.
At the State Board of Elections, Friday's voter registration deadline came with a crush of phone calls and boxes filled with envelopes and stuffed with registration forms that may hold the key to whether Gov. Mitt Romney or President Barack Obama wins in November.
"This is a lot of work. This is hard and tedious, but we know we're providing a public service and it's great," said Veronica Degraffenreid, with the Board of Elections.
It's not as busy as 2008 when the state set a record for newly registered voters with over a million. However, at least 500,000 new voters registered in the state this year and the state's still counting. Democrats are expected to have the advantage.
"Since April 2011, we've registered over 250,000 new voters in North Carolina," said Wake County Democratic Chairman Dan Blue.
But having the edge in registered voters doesn't guarantee anything. Democrats have historically dominated the registration rolls in North Carolina, but President Obama was the first Dem to win a presidential contest here since 1976.
And this year the GOP launched its own massive get-out-the-vote campaign-- trying to win back this once reliably Republican state.
"Just trying to look them in the eye and say 'Hey are you better off than you were four years ago,'" said GOP volunteer Terry Maupin.
Now with the deadline passed to register to vote, both sides ramp up to ensure the names on all these forms actually show up at the polls.
If you missed Friday's deadline, you can still vote.
Early voting starts next Thursday. During that period, you can register to vote on site and vote that day. You just have to bring proof of residency.
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