The U.S. election campaign is winding to a close, but record numbers of voters in dozens of states aren't waiting for election day to cast their ballot.
Early voting has already started in 29 states, including some of the biggest battlegrounds between Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and his Republican rival John McCain.
Pre-election day balloting in some states began last week, with many more added to the list on Monday.
Elections officials in Florida, Nevada, Colorado, and North Carolina are reporting huge lineups at election sites in their states. They say the turnout so far is on track to break all previous early voting records -- and the numbers also suggest that the 2008 election could get a record national turnout. By some estimates, early and mail-in ballots could account for one-third of all votes.
That may be good news for Democrats, who appear to be taking advantage of what analysts have said is a good get-out-the-vote ground operation in key states.
Officials in Florida said Tuesday that in the first two days of early voting, it's clear residents are eager to take advantage of the two-week window before the official election day on Nov. 4. Long voter lineups on Monday and Tuesday suggest that in some counties half of the ballots could be cast early.
While current polling and Democratic enthusiasm appears to be good news for Obama, he has cautioned his supporters not to become complacent. The Democrats are pushing hard to take advantage of their "enthusiasm gap" against the Republicans and push their voters to the polls early.
"I strongly encourage Floridians to continue casting their ballots before Election Day, either at an early voting location or by mail, so that Florida can deliver the change we need to Washington," Obama told Miami voters.
In North Carolina, the first few days of early voting (which began last Thursday in the state) indicate a strong showing for the Democrats. More than 200,000 people went to the polls in the first two days alone, and Democrats made up 62 per cent of those who voted. Only 22 per cent of voters were registered Republicans.
The early numbers in Nevada, another close race, are also a good sign for the Democrats. In the Las Vegas area, Democrats cast almost 32,000 early ballots by Monday afternoon. Registered Republicans, on the other hand, had only cast a little more than 13,000 votes. A similar scenario appears to be playing out in Reno.
Both vice presidential candidates planned trips to Colorado this week, which is not surprising considering early voting there started Monday. The early vote kickoff coincided with a visit by Republican Sarah Palin. Not to be outdone, the Democrats sent her counterpart, Joe Biden, to the state on Tuesday.
While it's too early to tell what impact the early votes will have on the final outcome, there's little doubt they show the strength of voter enthusiasm this election season. The enthusiasm has become so intense some Michigan residents rushed to their clerks' offices this week trying to cast their ballots.
However, they were turned away because Michigan is not one of the 31 states that have early voting (except through limited absentee ballots).
New Jersey and Okalahoma will open up their early voting next week.
With files from The Associated Press
