Turnout heavy in early voting

WASHINGTON – Record numbers of voters across the nation are casting ballots before Election Day, including high proportions of Democrats and blacks in some of the battleground states in what appears to be a promising sign for Barack Obama.

In the 32 states that allow people to vote without a special excuse before Nov. 4, election officials report heavy turnout as the presidential campaign reaches its frenzied last days. That’s the inevitable result of a campaign that has received round-the-clock attention. But it also reflects the intensive efforts of campaigns competing to bank votes before Election Day.

In North Carolina, which hasn’t gone for a Democrat since Jimmy Carter in 1976, almost 1 million people have voted, and Democrats outnumber Republicans by 2 to 1.

“We’re going to bust every record we’ve ever had,” Gary Bartlett, executive director of the State Board of Elections, said of the state’s early voting participation.

A surprise is the makeup of the early voters, election experts said. In past campaign seasons, Republicans have used early voting to their advantage, mobilizing a slice of the electorate that typically skews their way.

Yet a look at voters in a handful of crucial states suggests that Obama is turning out his base in numbers that surpass those of Republican John McCain.

“Historically, we’ve seen that early voters are older, they tend to be white, have higher incomes and are better educated,” said Paul Gronke, director of the Early Voting Information Center at Reed College in Oregon. “And that group of people tends to trend Republican. Now we have a mirror image in this campaign.”

Lloyd and Sandra Clemons, a retired black couple who voted early Friday near Pittsboro in Chatham County, N.C., said they chose Obama, describing him as an inspirational figure.

Sandra Clemons, a retired municipal worker, said she was initially a Hillary Rodham Clinton supporter because she figured Obama’s candidacy would fade.

“I was afraid he wouldn’t make it, and I’d be disappointed. Now I think it’s a major historic event – just unbelievable, and very exciting,” she said.

Early voting continues in many states, so the numbers can change. But Obama seems well-positioned in several Republican-leaning states that have the potential to broaden his path to the magic number of 270 electoral votes.

In North Carolina, early voting so far shows Obama’s party in the lead. Of the 930,516 people who’ve voted early, 56 percent are Democrats and 27 percent Republican. Blacks account for 21 percent of North Carolina’s registered voters, but make up 28 percent of those who’ve voted early.

In Georgia, which hasn’t chosen a Democratic presidential candidate since Bill Clinton in 1992, blacks are voting in disproportionately high numbers. Of the 967,210 people who’ve voted early thus far, 35 percent are black, state data show. By contrast, blacks constituted only about 25 percent of the total that voted for president in 2004.

Iowa voted for President Bush in 2004, but the Obama campaign hopes to steal the state from the GOP. Early voting figures bode well. About 51 percent of the 277,909 Iowans who’ve voted early are Democrats, compared with 28 percent Republicans – a margin that has more than doubled since four years ago.

Stuart Iverson, chairman of the Iowa Republican Party, said he isn’t unnerved by the trend. He views the state as a “tossup,” saying McCain stands a “decent shot at winning.”

“We’ve been through this in several election cycles,” he said. “On Election Day, what we’ve found is normally a greater percentage of registered Republicans vote than Democrats.”

Florida, a huge prize with 27 electoral votes, offers a mixed picture. More than 1.5 million Floridians have cast ballots. Democrats hold a tiny advantage: 42.7 percent to 42.6 percent. As of now, Republicans hold a 16-point edge in absentee balloting; Democrats have a 23-point lead among people showing up at the voting booths.

A Florida GOP official voiced worry that the gap would grow.

“We know Florida is a battleground state, and we’ll just have to work that much harder to deliver these 27 electoral votes to John McCain – and that will take every ounce of the grass-roots machine we’ve built up,” said the official, who asked for anonymity to speak more freely.

Early voting is becoming more commonplace as states eager to relieve Election Day congestion offer new options to cast ballots in advance. Experts estimate that upward of 30 percent of all votes could be cast early this year. In comparison, 14 percent of the electorate voted early in the 2000 election.

A Gallup poll released Friday found that, of the people who’ve voted early nationwide, roughly half have supported McCain, the other half Obama.