2016 presidential election voting began Sept. 9 in North Carolina. In battleground states 50-75% of total votes are by early voters and can provide momentum-AP

"Voters who cast ballots in advance are expected to make up between 50 to 75 percent or more of all ballots in the battlegrounds of North Carolina, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and Georgia."
 
9/9/16, "Get your ballots ready: Voting in White House race underway," AP, Hope Yen 

"Get ready: Voting in the 2016 election is now underway. Advance voting begins Friday in North Carolina, the first of 37 states that will allow balloting by mail for any reason or in person before the actual Election Day of Nov. 8.

It's part of a nearly nine-week campaign frenzy in which millions of voters will have the ability to fill out a ballot and be done with the 2016 presidential race.

North Carolina residents are first, and they can now submit absentee ballots by mail without an excuse. They also will be able to vote early at polling booths beginning Oct. 20.

Ballots from all 50 states will be sent to members of the armed services and voters living abroad the week of Sept. 19. And Georgia residents may also begin mailing in ballots that week, followed by battlegrounds Wisconsin and Virginia.

Iowa will accept early ballots starting Sept. 29, three days after the first presidential debate.

"If one campaign does significantly better in harvesting early votes, that campaign will have a substantial advantage as election day approaches," said Paul Gronke, a Reed College professor and director of the Early Voting Information Center in Portland, Oregon.

The stakes are high: Voters who cast ballots in advance are expected to make up between 50 to 75 percent or more of all ballots in the battlegrounds of North Carolina, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and Georgia, according to data compiled by The Associated Press.

Nationwide, about 45.6 million people or roughly 35 percent of the electorate attracted by its convenience voted prior to Election Day in 2012, and that number is expected to increase in 2016."...

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9/8/16, Calendars of Start Dates of Absentee and Early Voting by State, The Hill (scroll down)
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9/9/16, "It's Here: Early Voting in 2016 Race Has Begun," newser.com, Jenn Gidman

"As of Friday, North Carolina is accepting absentee ballots"

"Determining the fate of the US presidency officially kicks off Friday. North Carolina is the first of 37 states and DC to open up advance balloting so voters can, as the AP puts it, "be done with the 2016 presidential race." North Carolinians can now send in absentee ballots by mail for any reason (they'll be able to cast their vote in person starting Oct. 20). Alabama will be next to follow suit, with ballots mailed out during the week of Sept. 15, per the Hill, and all 50 states will mail out ballots to service members and registered expatriates the week of Sept. 19.

Meanwhile, in-person voting will get its start in Minnesota on Sept. 23. Why early voting can be important, other than offering convenience for the voter: These types of ballots make up anywhere between 50% to 75% of the overall votes cast in certain battleground states, including North Carolina, Florida, and Arizona. Plus, decent returns can provide momentum. "If one campaign does significantly better in harvesting early votes, that campaign will have a substantial advantage as Election Day approaches," Paul Gronke, director of the Early Voting Information Center, tells the AP. A University of South Florida political scientist who follows early voting trends tells the Hill that more than a third of voters are expected to go the early route this year. (Check out the Hill for an early-voting calendar.)"

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"Early voters will make up more than half of the electorate in the crucial states of North Carolina, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Arizona, and Georgia."...

9/12/16, "Early voting begins as presidential race keeps tightening," Bloomberg, Terrence Dopp

"Thirty-seven states have laws allowing people to cast absentee ballots without an excuse, or in person, before Election Day on Nov. 8. North Carolina is the first state to start voting when it began mailing out absentee ballots on Friday  

Early voters will make up more than half of the electorate in the crucial states of North Carolina, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Arizona, and Georgia, according to projections from the Associated Press."...

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