Registrars from rural Washington County to the Washington D.C. suburbs reported brisk business as thousands rushed to add their names to Virginia's voter rolls in person or through the mail ahead of today's 5 p.m. deadline.

Thomas Lenahan hurried down to Richmond's City Hall an hour-and-a-half before the state's registration deadline to add his name to the list of Richmond voters.

"The country can't afford another $700 billion," Lenahan said, referring to last week's proposed economic rescue plan.

Talitha Hill changed her voting address from Philadelphia to Richmond because "the economy is out of control. We need a change. This is a very important election."

In Richmond, interest in the election was so high that prospective voters spilled out into the hallway at City Hall today. Election officials brought extra chairs and tables into the hallway outside the registrar's office to allow people to fill out their forms.

There was a similar scene in Henrico County. Registrar Mark Coakley said the staff placed four tables in the outside corridor at the county office complex and the office itself was filled with people registering to vote or to change their addresses.

They were young and old alike, he said. A total of 616 people had registered between Oct. 1 and Oct. 5, he added.

But in Republican-leaning Chesterfield County, registrar Lawrence Haake said, "We haven't had a line all day."

While he expects about 20,000 new registrants in Chesterfield, Haake said today wasn't as busy as the last registration day four years ago. The county gave President Bush a 34,000-vote margin over Democrat John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election.

Haake said voter-registration drives had made sure prospective voters signed up early.

Statewide, updated figures were not available yet. Nancy Rodrigues, Secretary of the State Board of Elections, said more than 306,000 people have registered this year through Sept. 30. Of those, 42 percent are under 25, she said.

Democrat Barack Obama leads among young voters in Virginia polls. But typically, voter turnout is lower among young voters than among older voters.

On Election Day, Nov. 4, voters will decide whether Obama or Republican John McCain will become president. Virginia is considered a key state in the battle.

For more about voter registration across the state, read tomorrow's Richmond Times-Dispatch. Contact Tyler Whitley at (804) 649-6780 or twhitley@timesdispatch.com.