With record voter registration numbers in Centre County, student voters will take to the polls today to choose between two unprecedented tickets for president.

In the polling place, students have the option to vote for Democratic candidate Barack Obama, who would be the first black president, into office. Or students can choose Republican candidate John McCain -- who would be the oldest man ever inaugurated as president -- along with his running mate Sarah Palin, who would be the first female vice president.

In this election -- arguably the most widely covered in history --students casting their ballots may help set new voter turnout records.

Jodi Neidig, assistant director for elections and voter registration for Centre County, said she expects the voter turnout in Centre County to be at an all-time high because voter registration in the county is at an all-time high.

She said the highly televised presidential election can also attribute to voter registration and turnout.

As of Friday, there were a record 106,093 registered voters with 46,539 Democrats and 40,807 Republicans registered in Centre County, according to the Centre County elections and voter registration Web site.

A total of 86,581 voters were registered in the county for the last presidential election -- 19,512 less than are registered in this election -- according to the Web site.

As of Monday, Pennsylvania has 8,758,031 registered voters, including 4,480,691 Democrats and 3,243,391 Republicans, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State's Web site. That is almost 400,000 more than the number of registered voters in the 2004 presidential election.

Presidential elections typically see

high voter turnouts and the last one was no exception when lines to vote flowed outside the HUB-Robeson Center.

By midday Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2004, lines of students waiting to vote extended through the doors of the HUB, spilling out on to Pollock Road in front of the building. Some students waited in line for hours to cast their votes.

Andrew Natalo, president of Penn State Students for John McCain, said the situation this year could be like that of 2004 and in the middle of the day there may be a jam at the polls.

"The HUB's going to be trouble," Natalo said, adding more than one-precinct votes there.

Natalo said he would get up around 6 a.m. to make sure he is among the first to vote when the polls open at 7 a.m., and he recommended other students do the same.

Zachary Zabel, president of Penn State Students for Barack Obama, expressed similar recommendations about early voting and also encouraged all to vote when the polls open.

Zabel said the county and political campaigns have taken note of the number of new registrations and are anticipating record voter turnouts.

Penn State football players, including Lydell Sargeant and Derrick Williams, will be at polling locations between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., taking pictures and signing autographs with those who vote in the morning, he said.

Volunteers will also be at the polls making sure things go all right, Zabel said.

He added vans will be picking students up at different places, including at the corners of Pollock Road and Shortlidge Road; South Allen Street and East College Avenue; North Allen Street and Curtin Road, on campus to take them to their off campus polling locations, he said.

"Students are really going to have their voices heard," Zabel said.

Penn State Students for John McCain will be poll watching to make sure everything goes smoothly and issues don't arise, Natalo said.

"We're not anticipating any problems," he said.

Matthew Popek, president of Represent Penn State -- a non-partisan campus organization that encourages students to vote, said a table near the Pollock Road entrance of the HUB will be staffed by members of his organization and the PSUVote.org Coalition.

Voters who encounter problems can call the election protection hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE, Popek said.

Popek said people who registered but haven't yet received their voter registration cards should contact the Centre County Office of Elections to see if they are still able to vote, because they may be able.

First time voters or those voting for the first time in their precinct must bring a valid form of identification, which includes a Pennsylvania driver's license, student ID and voter's identification card issued by the voter registration commission, according to the county's Web site.

Coalition members will be handing out food to people in and out of line, Popek said.

Popek said he expects voter turnout to be "high and heavy throughout the day."

"We are preparing for the worst and hoping for the best," he said. "We're certainly not rooting for problems."

Collegian Staff writer Danielle Vickery contributed to this report.