The campaign of Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Wednesday it was making a major effort in North Carolina because of the alignment of the issues and because of an unprecedented get-out the vote effort.

"The people want out of this war and they want some changes in the econony," Democratic Gov. Mike Easley said during an Obama campaign teleconference. "It's going to be very difficult for the people of North Carolina to vote for the status quo rather than change, which is where we are right now."

The Obama campaign said they have so far opened 16 offices across the state, spent more than $2 million in TV ads, and registered thousands of new voters, Rob Christensen reports.

"We are in striking distance," said Patrick Gaspard, the Obama national political director said of North Carolina.

The Obama campaign seemed to be reaching out to blue collar workers, who tended to vote for Hillary Clinton in the May primary.

The Obama campaign said it would emphasize rising gas prices, manufacuring jobs lost through unfavorable trade deals and John McCain's opposition to the Farm Bill.

The Obama campaign said it planned to organize every precinct in the state. The campaign said it would focus on voter registration between now and the Oct. 10 deadline.

They noted that since January, Democrats had picked up 169,635 new voters, while Republicans had gained over 51,542.

El Pueblo plans to reach out to Hispanic voters.

The longtime Latino advocacy group is one of 25 groups around the country to receive a grant from the National Council of La Raza for voter outreach ahead of the Nov. 4 elections.

"This type of outreach is critical to increasing the influence and strength of this underserved population in this year's, and future, elections," said advocacy director Irene Godinez in a statement. "Our goal is to make sure that everyone in our community who is eligible acts, participates, and votes."

El Pueblo is training young workers on registration drives and plans outreach efforts in the coming months, including at La Fiesta del Pueblo on Sept. 6-7 at the N.C. State Fairgrounds.

According to the State Board of Elections, slighty less than 1 percent of registered voters were listed as Hispanic as of Aug. 9, although Hispanics made up 6.7 percent of the population in the 2006 Census.

The North Carolina chapter of the NAACP wants an aggressive investigation into recent automated calls it suspects are meant to confuse voters and suppress the black vote.

Rev. William Barber II, president of the state’s NAACP chapter, sent a complaint Saturday to N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper that outlines information the group has gathered about Women's Voices Women Vote — the group behind the robo calls, reports Titan Barksdale.

The calls tell voters to expect a voter-registration packet in the mail, but the calls were made after the deadline for registration in North Carolina. A man who identifies himself as Lamont Williams provides the misinformation.

“We want this taken very seriously,” Barber said. “[The calls] are a danger to our democracy and a danger to what’s best about this country.”

Cooper has said the calls are illegal because they did not disclose who sponsored the call or give contact information about their source.

“Regardless of the motivation, the robo-calls violated the law and they needed to stop,” Cooper said in a statement Wednesday.

Jennifer Canada, a spokeswoman for Cooper’s office, has said the calls continue to be investigated.

More than 45,000 voters switched party registration this year.

According to figures provided by the State Board of Elections, 45,665 voters changed to or from Democratic, Republican or unaffiliated registration between Jan. 1 and the April 14 deadline. 

(Voters may still update their registration or register to vote during the one-stop voting period that ends on Saturday, but they cannot switch parties.)

Of them, 42 percent switched to the Democratic Party and 42.2 percent switched to unaffiliated. Just 15 percent became Republicans.

Unaffiliated voters in North Carolina can request either party's ballot or a nonpartisan ballot featuring local and judicial races.

The biggest jump this year was from Republican to unaffiliated, with 11,748, or more than a fourth of voters who changed their registration. The second biggest jump was from Republican to Democrat, with 8,704, or 19 percent of voters who changed.

The smallest group was unaffiliated voters who reregistered as Republicans, with just 3,300, or 7 percent of voters who changed. 

Still, the numbers are pretty small overall, representing less than 1 percent of the number of registered voters at that time.

State elections officials are asking for the public's help in identifying the source of misleading and potentially illegal robocalls.

In at least one version of the call, a man says that voter registration packets must be returned before a person can vote. The State Board of Elections released a transcript of the call.

"Hello, this is Lamont Williams. In the next few days, you will receive a voter registration packet in the mail. All you need to do is sign it, date it and return your application. Then you will be able to vote and make your voice heard. Please return the voter registration form when it arrives. Thank you."

Bob Hall, executive director of Democracy North Carolina, said in a news release that the calls were being made to African American households. The good government watchdog posted audio of the call.

More after the jump.

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