Tense campaign boosts voter registration

Voter registration is up for blacks, women and young people as part of the election year excitement with a national total of more than 3.5 million new voters, according to an Associated Press survey.

Voters are inspired to support the presidential candidates -- U.S. Sens. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain.

In Hawaii, voter registration jumped more than 16,000 so far this year compared with the last presidential election year of 2004. Officials credit the increase to the interest in the Republican and Democratic caucuses in February.