Since the first of the year, more than 1,300 people have registered to vote in Covington County — with a little less than half of those registering within the last month.

Virginia Merritt of the Covington County Board of Registrars Office, said as of Thursday, the county had 21,443 residents signed up to vote. That number is a 471-person increase over August’s total of 20,972.

Merritt attributes the increase to interest in the upcoming presidential election set for Nov. 4.

“There has been a lot of interest in the municipal run-off elections in Florala and Opp,” she said. “That has a lot to do with the increase, but if I had to say, I think the majority of those people were registering so they could vote in November.”

Merritt said the number of people registering to vote daily prohibited a breakdown of voters by municipality.

“I wouldn’t even begin to try and figure that number,” she said. “It’s changing constantly. There are so many coming in every day.”

However, Merritt pointed out that anyone wishing to vote in the Oct. 7 municipal runoff election needs to do so today. In Florala, Robert Williamson and Newton Peters are vying for the office of mayor. In Andalusia, Don Cotton and Jason Jewell are battling for the District 4 seat. In Opp, Oren Stewart and Buddy Pyron are seeking the District 5 city council seat.

“Today is the last day, so people need to get in here if they want to vote on Oct. 7,” she said. “Residents do have until Oct. 24 to register for the November election.”

Florala City Clerk Lykeshia Anderson said the number of people coming into city hall to register to vote requires a daily mailing to the Board of Registrars Office.

“We have people coming in and filling out forms and some that are just being dropped off,” Anderson said. “There’s so much that we send out a mailing to Andalusia everyday.”

Opp City Clerk Connie Smith said there has been a high level of activity from the residents of Opp.

“And it’s just not for the city election,” she said. “It’s people wanting to be registered for the presidential election — which is good.”