MIAMI -- Elections officials in both Broward and Miami-Dade counties have reported huge increases in voter registration as residents rushed to beat the state's deadline for the Nov. 4 election.

"There's been significantly higher interest in this election than in any other election," said Lester Sola, Miami-Dade County Elections Supervisor.

Elections officials scheduled late office hours for Monday in order to handle a last-minute rush of people turning in their voter registration applications. An estimated 200,000 new voters have joined the rolls in Miami-Dade, and 300,000 in Broward since the last presidential election in 2004.

Many of the new voters signed up at rallies and registration drives organized by the campaigns and third-party groups.

"We're predicting 70-80 percent turnout if we look at the enthusiasm around the registration process," said Dr. Brenda Snipes, Broward County Supervisor of Elections.

Applications postmarked by Oct. 6 will be processed in time for the November election.