AP - Election Day will be something of an afterthought for tens of millions of Americans ™ they’ll be voting well ahead of time.

In fact, six weeks out from Election Day, some voters in Kentucky, South Carolina and Virginia already are done.

Nationwide, about a third of the electorate is expected to vote early this year, thanks to expanded early voting provisions and fewer restrictions on absentee voting, researchers project. In all, more than 30 states allow any registered voter to cast an early ballot, some in person and others by mail.

Greg Dearing, of Louisville, Ky., locked in his ballot for Barack Obama on Thursday.

"I’m usually a straight party voter," said Dearing, who will be vacationing in California on Nov. 4. "It would take something very far-fetched to make me regret my vote."

Early voting has been on the increase in recent years: In 2004, 22 percent of voters cast an early presidential ballot; in 2000, 16 percent voted early.

It’s a trend that is fundamentally changing the home stretch of American political campaigns. October surprises? They’d better come in September if campaigns want to influence every vote. Get out the vote operations? They’re already under way in some states.

"You can’t hold your big guns right to the end," said Paul Gronke, director of the Early Voting Information Center at Reed College in Oregon. "When up to 25 or 30 percent of the electorate has already cast a ballot, it might not be wise to wait until the last minute" to make a game-changing play for votes.

Even the presidential debate series, which begins Friday and runs through Oct. 15, will come after many have voted. However, experts say the earliest voters tend to be party loyalists who wouldn’t be swayed by debate performances anyway.

Across the nation, election officials are reporting high demand for absentee ballots. Ballots already are available in a few states, and they will be ready in about 20 more this week. By the first week of October, absentee voting will have started in all but a handful of states. In most state, all registered voters will be eligible to vote absentee, and a growing number will take advantage. Read more...

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