POLLWATCH MARK HENNESSY:UP TO 17 million people in the US have already cast their ballots for next week's presidential election and 60 per cent of them have voted for Democrat Barack Obama, a poll claimed yesterday.
More than 30 states allow citizens to cast their vote early without restrictions. Long queues have been reported right across the US - lasting up to four hours in some places.
In a Washington Post-ABC News tracking poll, 59 per cent of those who said they had already voted said they had backed Mr Obama, while 40 per cent said they had chosen Republican John McCain.
In the past, the Republican Party has enjoyed better success with early voters - even though the numbers voting in this way were smaller.
US president George W Bush won 62 per cent of early votes in 2000 and 60 per cent of them four years later.
Twelve per cent of African-Americans polled said they had already voted, up significantly from 2 per cent who acted in this way in 2000 and 8 per cent in 2004.
The number of African-Americans voting in southern states is even higher.
In Louisiana, 36 per cent have already voted - more than double the amount in 2004.
In Georgia, 1.4 million people have voted - almost half the total ballot in the last election.
In Florida, the opening hours of polling stations have been extended to cope with demand, with 2.5 million voting before the official polling day. California and Texas have each recorded more than two million early votes.
Paul Gronke, director of the Early Voting Information Centre at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, said early voters in the past tended to be older, richer and better educated than the average.
This time around, he said, the indication was that early voters were younger, more likely to be African-American, and more likely to support Mr Obama and Democratic candidates seeking election to Congress.