Early voting gaining popularity in U.S.

PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Voting early rather than waiting for Election Day in November is gaining popularity across the United States, political trackers say

Paul Gronke, a researcher at the Early Voting Information Center in Portland, Ore., ventures that one-in-three votes cast in the general elections this year will be cast early by mail or in person, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. That would be up from 14 percent in 2000.

Signs of that shift were evident Tuesday in Ohio, where a court ruled voters can register and vote the same day. College students in Columbus spent the night in tents so they could be at the front of the line; Akron voters queued up early as well, while in Cleveland, homeless people were driven from shelters to polling places, the Post said.

The trend to getting voting responsibilities out of the way ahead of time has been recognized by political campaign strategists, too.

"Every vote we get in early is one less to run down on Election Day," Alex Conant, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, told the Post.

Evan Tracey of the Campaign Media Analysis Group, which keeps an eye on spending, spotted an ad from the Obama camp that targeted Ohio's early voters.

"It was engineered just for that purpose and it is the sort of thing you see campaigns doing more of," Tracey said to the Post.