NEWBURYPORT - A steady stream of people flowed in and out of the city clerk's office yesterday while employees jumped from file to file passing out paperwork, and the telephone rang off the hook.

"It's been very, very busy," City Clerk Richard Jones said.

The City Clerk's office during election season is very busy, and the job starts months in advance. From testing election machines to accepting absentee ballots, there is a lot to do.

"We have to test all the machines before Tuesday," Jones said. "We test each machine with a variety of ballots."

But in addition to the array of tasks that go along with every election for local town and city clerks, the excitement over this year's presidential race has made things even busier, with more people registering to vote and seeking absentee ballots.

"I think this is really an interesting election with the first woman and first African-American candidate," said Tricia Barker, assistant city clerk. "Someone is getting to the kids because there are a lot more new voters and absentee voters."

Administrative assistant Sheila McCoy said Newburyport registered its 300th absentee voter yesterday.

"We have some of the older people who vacation in Florida, and then there is so much interest in this election that a lot of young people are coming in to register absentee," McCoy said.

Absentee ballots have also been big in Amesbury, where Town Clerk Bonnijo Kitchin estimates the town has received close to 200 requests for absentee ballots so far. For the 2004 presidential primary, Amesbury had a total of 62 absentee ballots and a total voter turnout of about 16 percent.

Kitchin is expecting turnout to be closer to 50 percent this year.

"I would be willing to bet that we'll have 50 percent," she said. "I'd be surprised if it was anything less than that."

But the cost of democracy is steep, with estimated costs nationwide to exceed $2 billion. In 2004, the presidential election cost the United States $1 billion, according to the Federal Election Commission.

In Newburyport, staging Tuesday's primary will cost the city more than $10,000.

"From police details to poll workers to rental of polling places to software programs and supplies, it's expensive," Jones said. "It has rapidly become very complex."

Part of that complexity is the new electronic voting machines many municipalities now use.

Yesterday Jones and Barker made sure each of the eight AcuVote machines and the five AutoMark, or handicapped-accessible machines, functioned properly.

"It takes a good day to get the machines ready, and there is some software that needs updating," Jones said.

Kitchin also spent yesterday morning with the Board of Registrars testing the ballots and upgrading Amesbury's new AutoMark machine.

"(Testing) takes a lot of time," she said. "That's a whole-morning process."

Kitchin has also been gathering the materials for her wardens and poll workers and compiling spreadsheets in preparation for Tuesday.

In Newburyport, the staff of three started preparing for the voting more than a month ago. Their work will continue off and on until the general election in November.

While the work that goes into putting an election together could easily be a full-time job, the city clerks office must continue to do its usual work as well.

"Its very challenging because there is a lot of attention to detail, and we still have to do our regular jobs in addition to voting," Barker said.

As the nation starts to count down to Super Tuesday on Feb. 5, when 22 states will hold their primary elections, Jones said he and his staff are there to help.

"I really mean this when I say it: We are a team," he said. "There is way too much work that goes into this for one person."