Our Views: Election time is changing
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Gentlemen, start your engines. For the two presidential candidates this year, it’s really start your engines, because the finish line isn’t Nov. 4. Depending on the state, the finish line could be much earlier, as people will start voting early in record numbers this year.
In Florida, 1 million voters already have requested ballots from the secretary of state there.
For the campaigns, the timing is extraordinary — basically a 60-day general election campaign from the conventions to Nov. 4. But add in early voting in many states, including those in the West, and timing becomes everything.
Louisiana, it’s true, is not exactly a battleground state. Republican John McCain is expected to carry the state handily. Even here, though, early voting — more than a week ahead of Election Day — means that local and congressional campaigns have to look at the calendar as well.
But the issues are most intense for McCain and Democrat Barack Obama.
Both campaigns have to spend heavily on advertising in battleground states where early voting is popular. Those include Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico this year in the mountain West, as well as Florida and Ohio, key states in every recent presidential election.
The financial strain on the campaigns, and the necessity of committing dollars and candidates’ time earlier, will tax the ingenuity of the two campaigns.
One expert told The New York Times that he expects a third of all votes to be cast early, by mail or other means. Paul Gronke of the Early Voting Information Center at Reed College in Oregon — a state where voting-by-mail was pioneered — said the number of early votes has been rising. In 2004, about 20 percent of votes were cast before election day.
At the same time, close races might cause people to hold on to their ballots later, Gronke said.
In a long and fascinating race, early voting is another fascinating new wrinkle on national politics.
In Florida, 1 million voters already have requested ballots from the secretary of state there.
For the campaigns, the timing is extraordinary — basically a 60-day general election campaign from the conventions to Nov. 4. But add in early voting in many states, including those in the West, and timing becomes everything.
Louisiana, it’s true, is not exactly a battleground state. Republican John McCain is expected to carry the state handily. Even here, though, early voting — more than a week ahead of Election Day — means that local and congressional campaigns have to look at the calendar as well.
But the issues are most intense for McCain and Democrat Barack Obama.
Both campaigns have to spend heavily on advertising in battleground states where early voting is popular. Those include Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico this year in the mountain West, as well as Florida and Ohio, key states in every recent presidential election.
The financial strain on the campaigns, and the necessity of committing dollars and candidates’ time earlier, will tax the ingenuity of the two campaigns.
One expert told The New York Times that he expects a third of all votes to be cast early, by mail or other means. Paul Gronke of the Early Voting Information Center at Reed College in Oregon — a state where voting-by-mail was pioneered — said the number of early votes has been rising. In 2004, about 20 percent of votes were cast before election day.
At the same time, close races might cause people to hold on to their ballots later, Gronke said.
In a long and fascinating race, early voting is another fascinating new wrinkle on national politics.
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