North Carolina Democrats Gain from Early Voting Statewide

Greensboro, North Carolina -- Indicative of North Carolina's newfound status as a battleground, early voting here is indicating a record turnout throughout the state. As of Sunday, over one million voters have already cast ballots in the presidential and senatorial race here. With less than one week before November 4, the number of ballots cast have already exceed the entire number who voted early in the 2004 election.

There is no question there is a significantly higher level of interest in this year's election. State election officials report that 100,000 more voters have voted in early voting this year than in all of 2004, and lines to yet vote remain long.

Participation has prompted North Carolina Board of Elections to vote to extend polling hours of operation by 4 hours daily. Early voting in the state will run through Saturday.

The latest Real Clear Politics Poll average showing Sen. Barack Obama with a 49 to 46 percent lead among voters, and state Democrats are encouraged by early voting numbers that indicate 58 percent of those voting early are registered Democrats, while only 25 percent are registered Republicans. This of course means that in order for Sen. John McCain to carry the state, he must carry a large majority of independent voters and win the votes of many conservative Democrats.

It seems a formidable, if not insurmountable, task. Democrats are well-organized in the state and have been far more active in registered new Democratic leaning voters. The Democratic party and Obama have urged Democratic voters in the state to vote early in order to not be discouraged from voting as a result of long election day lines.

Democrats have responded. This has been especially true of young, college aged students, a group specifically targeted by the Obama campaign and one which polls show favor senator Obama over senator McCain by a two to one margin. Students have been encouraged to vote early to avoid unexpected conflicts with class schedules, exams, jobs and other unanticipated conflicts.

In response to the Democratic early vote effort, the Republicans also began to encourage their voters to vote early, but this call came only much later in the early voting process in response to the Democratic activity.

Another major factor in North Carolina will be an increased participation by African-American voters in the state. Students from the state's seven predominantly black colleges have been very active in campaigning for Obama and in registering new African-American voters. Students have also been active in ensuring registered African-Americans get to the polls. The Greensboro News-Record reports that of those voting early 28 percent are African-Americans in a state in which African-Americans are 21 percent of the population.

The News-Record reports that 579,858 new voters were registered in the state for this election. A large majority of these newly registered voters are young people, less than 25 years old who heavily favor the Democratic ticket. In an election that promises to be very close and very important the vote of the these new voters may well decided the election.