By Seth Stern, CQ Staff

Election officials around the country are bracing for huge voter turnout and a big spike in early voting may not be enough to prevent long lines at the polls come November 4.

A number of swing states have reported significant increases in voter registration, an early indicator of how many people are likely to vote. Among battleground states with the biggest gains in voter registration are Nevada, up 30 percent, Virginia, 11 percent, and North Carolina, 9 percent.

But even swing states with less significant jumps, such as Ohio, or Missouri where registration is actually down slightly statewide, have seen huge increases concentrated in particular counties and cities that could overwhelm local officials.

Ohio’s Cuyahoga County, home to Cleveland and its suburbs that have a history of election problems, has seen a 10 percent increase in registered voters compared to 2004 and St. Louis is seeing the highest registration levels in a quarter century.

Overall, 13 battleground states have already received 3.4 million new registrations as of Oct. 14, compared to 1.8 million new registrations in 2004, according to Laura Quinn, chief executive of Catalist, which tracks voter registration for progressive organizations.

“This is a tsunami for all election boards,” says Richard Bauer, the assistant director of the St. Louis County Board of Election commissioners, which includes St. Louis’ suburbs.

The high level of interest in the election leaves local officials scrambling for unprecedented voter turnout. In Virginia, for example, the secretary of state’s office projects 90 percent voter turnout statewide, compared to 71 percent in 2004. Nationally, Mary Wilson, president of the League of Women Voters, says many election officials are bracing for 80 to 85 percent turnout. Of particular concern is that a flood of first-time voters navigating the polling place for the first time could make lines move even slower.

In St. Louis County, the number of poll workers is being increased by 20 percent from 4,900 to 6,000, says Bauer. Virginia has added 300 new polling places.

But nationally, a study released by the Century Foundation and Common Cause of 10 swing states found significant problems remain in the allocation of voting machines and the recruitment and training of poll workers. Increasingly complicated voting laws and technology have strained the army of low-paid senior citizens most localities rely on to operate polling places.

Local officials and both presidential campaigns have encouraged voters to cast their ballots prior to the election. Many states allow voters to cast their ballots early in person or use absentee ballots without an excuse such as illness or being out of town.

Early voting is expected to increase from 8 percent in 2004 to a third of voters this year, predicts Paul Gronke, who directs Reed College’s early voting information center.

“Election administrators are trying to push these methods to reduce the pressure on their staffs,” Gronke said.

Those efforts appear to be working. In Colorado, 57 percent of voters received absentee ballots and 100,000 of them had been returned by Oct. 15. Gronke said he expects about half of the votes in Nevada and New Mexico to come in before election day.