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RALEIGH (AP) - North Carolina added more than 600,000 newly registered voters to its rolls in the first nine months of the year, swamping election officials who are scrambling to process the paperwork of those eager to cast a ballot.

The state's Friday voter registration deadline will mark an end to a historic registration period that saw a heated Democratic primary drive a surge in voting registration, which continued unabated as Election Day has approached.

Democrats have added 290,808 new registrants since Jan. 1, while only 128,162 new registrations have signed up with the GOP.

Democratic hopeful Barack Obama hopes to take advantage of the disparity to become the first from his party to win the state in more than three decades.

Adding to the furor, North Carolina also has two of the most watched races in the nation for U.S. Senate and the governor's office.

"I love it," said Cherie Poucher, the director of Wake County's board of elections.

"Democracy's a wonderful thing. And the more people that participate in it, the happier we are. It's a lot of extra work. But to see the interest - to see people getting ready to exercise their right to vote - is a good feeling."

Poucher said thousands of new registrations have poured into her office each day since the start of the month. Her staff moved into a new room to handle all the paperwork, sorting piles of envelopes and buckets of mail seven days a week. Hundreds of phone calls come in each day from voters wondering if they are registered.

She warned new registrants their voter card may arrive a little late this year because of the backlog, but said all who signed up on time will be able to vote.

"Generally, in a normal time, what we get in on Monday is processed Tuesday," Poucher said.

"But when you start getting thousands and thousands a day, it will take longer to get through them all. But we will."

Those who do not register on Friday still have the option of registering and voting at a one-stop voting site, beginning on Oct. 16 and running through Nov. 1.

Gary Bartlett, the director of the State Board of Elections, encouraged voters to take advantage of early voting so that tempers don't flare in long lines on Election Day.

He's hoping that some 35 percent of voters cast a ballot before Nov. 4 to relieve some of the strain.

"The only concern I have is the volume we're dealing with," Bartlett said. "That's part of the business. We ask for patience."