Early birds vote for Obama

Pundits who predicted that early voting would favour Barack Obama have been proved right. In both Colorado and New Mexico, about 60 per cent of the vote is already in, and in what is effectively an exit poll, Pure Public Polling gives Obama 10 and 17-point leads over John McCain respectively in the two states - both of which voted for Bush in 2004.

"Should New Mexico and Colorado become safe Obama states," argues Nate Silver on independent poll tracking site Five Thirty Eight, "McCain's only realistic path to victory runs through Pennsylvania." That spells bad news for the Republicans with Real Clear Politics showing that Obama has a 9.3 per cent advantage in Pennsylvania.

According to AP, early-voting Democrats outnumber their Republican counterparts in four other battleground states - Iowa, North Carolina, Florida and Nevada - where McCain will have to play catch-up on Tuesday.

In fact, all across America early voters are favouring Obama. A Pew Research Centre poll shows that the Democratic candidate has 53 per cent of the pre-election day vote to McCain's 34 per cent.

FIRST POSTED OCTOBER 31, 2008