Voter registration is growing at a faster rate in the black community than it is among white North Carolinians.

According to data reported Aug. 2 by the State Board of Elections, there are 1,224,545 black registered voters, compared with 1,114,798 on Election Day in 2004. That's an increase of 109,747, or 9.8 percent.

Meantime, there are 4,421,919 white registered voters, compared to 4,226,473 on Election Day in 2004. That's an increase of 195,446, or 4.6 percent.

Those numbers put black voters at 20 percent of the electorate and white voters at 75 percent, roughly where they were in 2004.

Black voters' share of the electorate is a little below the 23 percent threshold that some say Barack Obama would need to win North Carolina, on the basis of current polls.

Still, voter registration is not a good indicator of turnout. Historically, black voters have turned out at a lower rate in North Carolina, making their percentage of actual voters a few points below their percentage of the electorate.

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