Ward and Cindy Goughenour made it with 10 minutes to spare.
They were two of the hundreds of people who flocked to the Westmoreland County Courthouse Monday to beat the clock and register to vote in the April 22 primary.
"We wanted to do it, so we thought we'd do it today," Ward Goughenour said as the doors to the election bureau locked behind him.
The Goughenours drove to Greensburg from their hometown of Hunker to change their political affiliations. They switched from Democrat to Republican, a move they said was prompted in an effort to support the re-election bid of state Sen. Bob Regola, R-Hempfield.
"So many have switched the other way, I thought I'd help," Goughenour said.
Election officials throughout the state were besieged with voters looking to qualify for next month's Democratic presidential primary between Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.
Westmoreland County officials said that more than 500 registration applications were filed at the courthouse yesterday.
"We've been busy for two weeks, and it's been pretty steady today. It's been our busiest day," said Election Bureau Director Jim Montini.
Registration applications were brought in by individuals and in bulk from representatives of the Obama and Clinton campaigns.
A final tally of registered voters won't be available until late this week or early next week, according to Montini. Workers will still process registration requests that were mailed out before the calendar turned to Tuesday.
Meanwhile, employees at the Fayette County Election Bureau also were kept busy.
"It's just been a steady flow," said Laurie Lint, director. "I have no clue how many. It's been nonstop."
Lint said the bureau handled various requests, including new registrations, changes to party registrations, address changes and even name changes.
Voters crowded the front desk, often four at a time, to fill out the necessary paperwork. Lint said the bureau has not experienced this much last-minute registration activity in "a long while."
Among those who registered yesterday were Uniontown residents Brian Verney and Fred David. Both are 18 years old, and yesterday marked their first time registering to vote.
David said he registered as a Democrat but does not plan to vote. He said he registered at the urging of his father.
Verney, who registered as a Republican, intends to go to the polls.
"You need to have a voice in your government," Verney said. "You can't just complain about how things are unless you vote."
Verney said he waited until the last minute to register because he has been away from home attending West Virginia University. The mechanical engineering major had to wait until spring break to stop by the election bureau.
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