Fifteen percent of registered voters nationwide have already cast their ballots in this year’s election, according to Gallup Daily tracking.
Despite Hurricane Sandy forcing early voting stations in North Carolina and Virginia to close yesterday more than one in three votes are likely to be cast before Election Day this year. Predictions suggest early voting could surpass the previous record set in 2008
Democrats are building a significant advantage in two of the most important battleground states Iowa and Nevada, with Iowa Democrats casting nearly 59,000 more early votes than Iowa Republicans by the end of last week. Republicans are thought to have an edge in Colorado.
Both Republican and Democratic campaigns have placed heavy emphasis on the importance of early voting with Republicans embracing a long held Democrat belief that early voting can be used to increase turn out.
The bigger swing states of Ohio and Florida are still largely contested but Republicans have been seen making more of an organisational push for early votes than they did in the last election.
Republicans in many states are more likely to wait until Election Day to vote, therefore the party’s mission in many places is to try and chip away at any Democratic advances.
By Sophie Marsden