Early voting transforms strategy

Negative ads, better voter targeting hit states with early balloting

By Tom Curry
National affairs writer
msnbc.com msnbc.com
updated 10/4/2010 12:06:39 PM ET

Voters across the nation will cast their votes for federal, state and local offices on Nov. 2. But in Iowa, they began voting two weeks ago and can take advantage of early participation through Oct. 30.

In Ohio, voters started casting ballots last Tuesday, and early voting runs until Nov. 1.

Californians can vote by mail and counties begin mailing ballots out Monday.

In West Virginia, where a suddenly competitive U.S. Senate race has emerged, the conservative group American Crossroads announced last week it's working to deliver absentee ballot mailers and make early voting notifications in that state. Early voting begins there on Oct. 13.

By the end of this week, voters in ten states will have started casting ballots. In all, 36 states and the District of Columbia have adopted some form of pre-Election Day voting.

More Politics news Early voting transforms campaign strategy
By the end of this week, voters in ten states will have started casting ballots. In all, 36 states and the District of Columbia have adopted some form of pre-Election Day voting. And it’s not only convenient for voters – it’s changing the way campaigns are run. Full story

According to the Early Voting Information Center at Reed College in Portland, Ore., about one-fifth of the electorate voted early in 2004, one-quarter did in 2006, and one-third in 2008.

In the 2008 election, 42 percent of California ballots were cast by mail, but that share jumped to 58 percent in the state’s June primary this year.

Early voting and vote by mail are a convenience for voters, but they’re also changing the way campaigns are run.

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“Campaigns become more expensive, they become more front-loaded,â€