About 15 per cent of registered voters in America have already cast their ballots and another 18 per cent intends to do it before the November 6 presidential elections, the Gallup said today.
As a result, nearly one-third of the registered would have cast their ballots before the elections — the campaigning for which has been temporarily halted by both the incumbent Barack Obama, and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney.
According to Gallup daily tracking, early voting this election year is most prevalent in the West, followed by the South and the Midwest, but is relatively light in the East.
These differences largely reflect regional differences in state laws on absentee and mail voting, with two states — Washington and Oregon — not only encouraging early voting, but mandating it, it said.
“One in four voters in the West say they have already voted, and another 30 per cent plan to vote before Election Day. The combined 55 per cent in the West contrasts with 40 per cent in the South, 23 per cent in the Midwest, and nine per cent in the East,” the Gallup said.
Gallup said of Barack Obama’s supporters, 15 per cent have already voted and a total of 33 per cent indicate they will vote early. Of Mitt Romney’s supporters, the figures are 17 per cent and 34 per cent, respectively.