Campaigns court early voters; Will it matter?

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

(CBS News) Election Day is seven weeks away, but before Nov. 6, around 44 million people are likely to have already cast their votes.

Early voting, which starts in South Dakota and Idaho today, has grown more common with each presidential election over the last 12 years. It's a shift that makes voting more convenient, accessible and gives early indicators as to which side has an edge when it comes to enthusiasm and turnout efforts. Early voting only boosts overall voter turnout marginally, but in states like Ohio and Florida -- where lawsuits over early voting are pending -- a marginal boost in turnout could make all the difference.

In-person early voting opens today in South Dakota and in some counties in Idaho, though ballots are already coming in from a handful of other states: Kentucky, Indiana and the battleground states of North Carolina and Wisconsin.

In those four states, voters can already submit absentee or mail-in ballots. However, for a more accurate understanding of when the campaigns can drive voters to the ballot box en masse, CBS News considers early voting to start when a state has opened drop-off centers for ballots or in-person voting sites.

Since 2002, after the passage of the Help America Vote Act, many states adopted rules allowing large numbers of people to vote before Election Day. Currently, 34 states (including 10 battleground states) plus the District of Columbia offer early voting.

CBS

Just 16 percent of votes in the 2000 election were cast early, but that figure rose to 22 percent in 2004 and 33 percent in 2008. This year, the CBS News polling unit predicts at least one third of ballots -- or around 44 million -- will be cast before Election Day, though that figure could reach as high as 40 percent. In battleground states, early votes could account for anywhere from an estimated 5 percent of the vote (as in Pennsylvania) to an estimated 80 percent (in Colorado).

According to Paul Gronke, director of the Early Voting Information Center at Reed College in Portland, Ore., "People who vote early are people who've made their minds up."

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[randysanders]

I don't know if some polls, which indicate Obama is leading Romney, are based on early voting tallies in those states. But from most polls, Obama is leading. For some voters, they'll wait until the debates to vote, for others they'll wait until Nov. 6, to vote.

The only thing that matters is will America choose Obama because they themselves are informed voters and try to keep themselves up to date from CBS News, ABC News, PBS News, and NBC News , or will they choose Romney based soley on what they listen to at Fox News and the Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh shows. This November may only be the continuance of something new, or the return to James Madison's one party rule of the Republicans as alluded to in Federalist # 10, closing paragraph.

[randysanders]

Obama Biden 2012 !!!

[tsigili]

Only to the Democrats.......who will use every possible opportunity to commit voter fraud.

[randysanders]

tsigili: Have you always been this arrogant and bullheaded. A stubborn ox (alluding to you) doesn't reason very well. Have you ever heard of the phrase, "Wrong and deceitful as a Right Winger"? No, well you have now.

[randysanders]

To Drumitupyakaheima: IYF (in your face) is an antagonistic position for you to be in. Just FYI (For your information) is a more standard position to be in, but; as I can see, you prefer antagonism instead of intelligence you can rely on. As for your comments, we are supposed to be commenting briefly on the article above, not discertating on and on as if we were in cyberblog world. The question offered was, "Will It Matter?"

[J2289]

Here's what we need to do:
A. Watch the movie "2016" to see the real obama. Read this about the movie: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/sep/20/impact-of-2016-on-2012-presidential-race-uncertain/

B. Read the internet article by the Washington Examiner newspaper titled "The Obama You Don't Know". You owe it to YOUR COUNTRY to read this article. KNOW AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE ABOUT SECRETIVE OBAMA. Here is the website: http://washingtonexaminer.com/obama#.UFsyRxiFdQZ

C. Read the book "The Amateur: Barack Obama in the White House" by Edward Klein.

D. Don't listen to or believe the polls or the biased mainstream media [CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, AP, Reuters, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, NY Times, Miami Herald...they are not journalists...they are liars for FORWARD FAILURE liberals.

E. Nov 6th: you and your friends kick out job killer not my fault not quite shovel ready muslim sympathizer FORWARD FAILURE nobama and all tax and spend politicians. GET INVOLVED; TAKE AN ACTIVE PART IN KICKING OUT OBAMA.

F. Repeal nobamacare and replace it with a better system not run by the Government.

G. Pass mandatory national E-Verify to stop illegals from stealing our jobs.

H. Pass mandatory national Voter ID to stop illegals from stealing our vote.

[sjc_1]

More people have voted by mail, but I don't understand allowing it TWO months in advance. A LOT can happen in that time, there are propositions on the ballot as well.

I see NO purpose to voting two months in advance, two weeks maybe but not two months. It distorts the process and does not lead to better democracy. Two months in advance is before the debates, that makes NO sense.

[tsigili]

Most voters have already decided.

They are either for the subversives of the Democratic Party, or they are Patriots, against the dictators.

[AOCGUY]

Sounds to me tsigili that you are pretty subversive yourself. All anti government and such.

[sjc_1]

Republic means anything but a monarchy, which allows dictators. The Republicans are the fascist dictators. Bush said he has nothing against dictatorships as long as HE is the dictator.

[AOCGUY]

Courting the early voters is probably a waste of time as most early voters have known for awhile who they will vote for. It's the idiots that show up at the polls on election and stand outside studying the ballot trying to make up their minds that the candidates should be going after. Of course those idiots probably shouldn't be allowed to vote but unfortunately the law says they can.

And if you aren't one of those idiots and don't believe me just go to any polling place on election day and watch, you will be amazed at the morons we allow to vote.

[signseeker1717]

You certainly have a low opinion of your fellow Americans.

[grumpas]

No! I knew who I was voting for a year ago!!! I just want the whole thing to get over so I can go back to a quiet phone all day.