From Dayton, Ohio -
As President Obama and Mitt Romney campaigned across this key state on Wednesday, it became very clear how much elections have changed in recent years. We don't have to wait six weeks for the elections. Election Day is already here.
"You can start voting in six days," President Obama told a crowd of college students first at Bowling Green State University and then at Kent State in Ohio on Wednesday, urging his backers to get out and vote early.
"I need you to start voting six days from now on October 2nd," the President said as he wrapped up his first speech of the day in the Buckeye State.
While October 2 might sound early when it comes to early voting, Ohio is sort of late to the game compared to other states - heck - some states are already posting how many votes have been cast in the November elections.
As of September 27, voting for the 2012 elections is already underway in 30 states, either with absentee ballots and/or actual in-person voting hours.
So, I may tell you that Election Day is now 40 days away, but really, it's already here.
Consider these statistics:
* North Carolina reported 6,185 absentee ballots cast as of Tuesday.
* 2,205 absentee ballots are already back in South Dakota.
* Maine has 31 absentee ballots in to elections officials.
Some states put no data on the internet about their early voting, others have all kinds of .csv files that would make fans of spreadsheets go nuts - North Carolina is one prime example - where you can find out very interesting details.
In Mecklenburg County around Charlotte, how about these details on who has requested absentee ballots:
* 114 White Democratic women
* 265 White Republican women
* 195 White Republican men
* 56 White Democratic men
I'll leave it you to figure out what that means. But you can get the information on the web.
Iowa has some rather interesting statistics on the internet as well, which show a big edge for Democrats in the Hawkeye State in terms of requesting an absentee ballot:
* 114,585 Democrats asked for an absentee ballot
* 22,364 Republicans requested absentee
* 38,959 requests came from "No Party"
That's a hefty early vote advantage for Democrats which could speak to voter enthusiasm there.
So, add one more thing to my daily election checks - early voting statistics.
Still, it's not really what I would like to see.
Now, if they could just start posting the totals of who the votes are for - now that would be fun.
