POLITICS: Record Number of Early Voters, page 1

American's are voting in record numbers and election day is still a week away. Absentee ballots and early voter programs are being used in numbers much higher than in previous years. Some are predicting 10% of all ballots will be cast before November 2nd.

www.washingtonpost.com
Part of the reason for the uncertainty is that early voting is a relatively new phenomenon, with the number of states offering it nearly tripling in the past eight years. Campaigns have been forced to adjust to a new presidential campaign rhythm: In Iowa, for instance, "Election Day" lasts more than five weeks.

This year, election officials say they are seeing record early-voting turnout, in part because of the enormous interest in the close presidential election and in part because of the get-out-the-vote effort by parties. A National Annenberg Election Survey released this week found that nationwide, 5 percent of voters have already cast a ballot and more than a fifth plan to vote before Election Day.

In states where early voting has existed for a while, election officials are predicting even greater numbers. In New Mexico, for instance, Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron (D) believes that more than 50 percent of voters will cast their ballots before Nov. 2, a big increase over 2000.

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The increase in early votes I think is a clear indication that voter turn-out will be higher this year than we've seen in a long time.

Early voting is probably a headache for campaign managers. The campaign blitz in the week prior to the election will be of course lost on these early voters. Added to that is the fact that you can't gain any real insight as to how the vote is going due to inconsistent patterns of Democrats and Republicans voting early.

[edit on 25-10-2004 by Banshee]