Voter turnout in the town soared to 36.3 percent in last week's election -- by far the highest amount in more than a decade -- according to figures released Monday by Montgomery County Registrar Randy Wertz.

In May voting since 1998, voter turnout has fluctuated between 3.3 percent and 22.2 percent. Turnout for the past three town elections have been 12.5 percent (2008), 20.6 percent (2006) and 22.2 percent (2004).

Making the turnout even more remarkable is the higher number of registered voters.

Following the push to register voters in advance of the historic 2008 presidential election, there were nearly 21,000 registered voters in the town. That's up more than 30 percent from any of the previous six election cycles.

-- The Roanoke Times