record 4 million voters are registered for the Nov. 7 election, Secretary of State William F. Galvin announced yesterday.
Registration drives over the past two months attracted 160,000 voters, making the grand total 4,000,218. Of the new voters from September and October, 60 percent were women, 20 percent were in the 18 to 25 age group, and 55 percent signed up as unenrolled, Galvin said.
Though Galvin will not make a voter turnout prediction until later this week or Monday, he said he is ''optimistic about a good turnout'' because of the tight presidential race between George W. Bush and Al Gore nationally. For the 1996 presidential election, 75 percent of the state's 3.4 million registered voters cast ballots.
While the number of registered Republicans has remained roughly steady at 14 percent since 1988, registered Democrats have declined about 10 percent to 36.5 percent during that time, and the unenrolled have grown to 49.5 percent, according to state election officials.
Galvin said extra efforts are underway for smooth operations at the polls Tuesday, especially since the ballot is lengthy and complicated with eight referendum questions.
Voters may vote absentee through Monday. Otherwise they should expect to wait in line on Election Day, Galvin said, noting that some clerks have reported that absentee voters are taking up to 15 minutes to fill out their ballots.
He said that some city and town clerks are considering ''express lane'' stations for voters who come prepared. He advises voters to do their part to help speed up the process by reading their official voter's guide and deciding how they will vote beforehand.
''We encourage people to bring a check-off list to the polls,'' he said.
