RALEIGH -- Voting in North Carolina could look very different in the years ahead.

There could be a different deadline for voters to register. There could be an earlier date for the N.C. presidential primary or caucus. There could even be a different way to appoint the Electoral College, which picks the president.

All those ideas -- and others related to voting -- are pending in the General Assembly. And they could have real consequences for how future candidates run their campaigns and for which candidates win.

Chris Heagarty, executive director of the N.C. Center for Voter Education, said the flurry of ideas and activity, while not unprecedented, reflects intense interest ahead of the 2008 elections. Next year, North Carolina will choose a new governor, help choose a new president and vote for U.S. Senate.

"Everyone sees 2008 as this big, big election," Heagarty said.

Perhaps the most historic change could be in how North Carolina appoints people to the Electoral College -- the 538-member group that, under the U.S. Constitution, decides the presidency. As in most other states, North Carolina's 15 electors vote for the winner of the state's popular vote.

Under a bill sponsored by Sen. Dan Clodfelter, a Charlotte Democrat, the electors would vote for the winner of the national vote. He said the bill would draw more attention to North Carolina, which has a low profile in presidential elections, and create a national election for president.

"That's the one and only office that represents the people of the nation," Clodfelter said.

In a historic vote, the bill got through the state Senate this week, and it is expected to get a hearing in the House. The vote, though, was along partisan lines, with Republicans arguing the bill would help Democrats.

Small states, Republicans point out, have disproportionate clout in the Electoral College, and those states -- particularly out West -- tend to vote for the GOP in presidential elections. A national popular vote would eliminate that advantage.

Among other voting bills under consideration:

A bill sponsored by Sen. Andrew Brock, R-Davie, would move the state's presidential primary or caucus to Feb. 5 -- the same date as some of the nation's biggest primaries -- from May 6, when N.C. voters will go to the polls for other primaries. The bill received a hearing and some bipartisan support but has since stalled, in part because of the extra cost, as much as $5.5 million.

Eligible voters could register to vote up until a few days before Election Day, under a bill sponsored by Rep. Deborah Ross, D-Wake. Current law sets the deadline 25 days before an election. The idea, which conventional wisdom suggests would help Democrats, won House approval in March and a Senate hearing is expected soon.

Several bills would require a more strict form of identification, such as a driver's license, at the polls. Current law does not require identification in most cases. It would likely help Republicans, so the idea has gotten little traction in the Democrat-controlled General Assembly.

Under legislative rules, most bills that have not passed the House or the Senate by May 24 are finished for the year.