THE VOTING STARTS NOW

[DeepModem Mom]

TIME: The Voting Starts Now
By Amy Sullivan Friday, Sep. 19, 2008



If it seems like John McCain and Barack Obama have been training serious fire on each other earlier than party nominees have in previous general elections, it's not just because passions are running so high as a result of the Iraq war or the economy's woes. It also has something to do with the fact that the actual voting for President starts this week, and a record number of Americans are expected to pull the lever long before November 4.

Even though bags of candy corn and other Halloween treats have barely hit drugstore shelves, Virginia voters will start casting their ballots on Friday at early voting sites around the commonwealth. Another half dozen states will open up early voting next week before the candidates even meet for their first debate of the campaign. In all, 36 of the 50 states will allow early voting this year, including many key battleground states like Ohio and Colorado. As many as one-third of all voters are expected to make their selection before Election Day.

This new reality is upending traditional campaign strategies, not just for the organizations of Obama and McCain, but also for down-ballot candidates and ballot initiative efforts. And it has hyper compressed the presidential race. No sooner had the nominees selected their running mates and introduced themselves to the nation than they began pivoting to present their closing arguments, as Obama almost appears to be doing in his new two-minute economy ad. In years past, candidates stayed on alert for an "October surprise" that could alter the race at the last minute. In the brave new world of accelerated elections, any October surprise would come too late....

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One of the puzzles campaigns are still trying to solve is who gets an edge from early voting. When the use of absentee ballots was largely limited to elderly shut-ins, Republicans were assumed to have an advantage. "Traditionally, Republicans have done a better job with mail-in ballots," says Mike Hamrick, chair of the Arapahoe County Democrats in Colorado. "We always used to say, Democrats win on Election Day and Republicans win in the post office." But as the popularity of early voting grows, the sheer number of voters involved makes that slice of the electorate more diverse. Polling in 2004 and 2006 has shown that those who utilize early voting tend to still be older, which would seem to help McCain—but they're also more educated and affluent, demographics that have supported Obama this year.

In addition, more early voting centers are being located at colleges and universities, a change that significantly affects student turnout....

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1841934,00.html?xid=site-cnn-partner