"Oklahoma doesn't take people off the ballot just because they drop out," Election Board Secretary Mike Clingman said Thursday.

Therefore, 11 Republicans and seven Democrats will be on the ballot in the state, including one Oklahoma resident, Democrat Jim Rogers of Midwest City.

State party leader say former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards has the edge in the Democratic race over front-runners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, while former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is given the edge among Republicans.

Edwards finished a strong second to Wesley Clark in the Democratic primary four years ago, but was second to Clinton in a poll of Democrats conducted in Oklahoma in late December.

Clingman said it is too early to predict a turnout for the race, but said telephones at the Election Board have been busy with people checking their registration status.

"It's too early to tell, but we are expecting it to be bigger than normal," the election official said. He said the lack of a clear front-runner usually leads to a high turnout.

Obama won in the Iowa caucuses last week, but finished second to Clinton in the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday. Huckabee also won in Iowa, but was third behind winner John McCain and Mitt Romney in New Hampshire.

Friday is the registration deadline for the Oklahoma election. However, voters

Just over two million of the state's 3.5 million residents are registered voters. About 50 percent are Democrats, 39 percent are Republicans and 11 percent are independents.

Democrats on the Oklahoma ballot are Obama, Clinton, Edwards, Bill Richardson, Dennis J. Kucinich, Christopher Dodd and Rogers. Dodd has dropped out of the race and Richardson was expected to abandon his bid.

Republicans on the ballot are Huckabee, McCain, Romney, Tom Tancredo, Duncan Hunter, Ron Paul, Rudy Giuliani, Jerry R. Curry, Alan L. Keyes, Fred Thompson and Daniel Gilbert. Trancredo has left the campaign.