>It's an increasing trend here. An estimated 1/3 of the votes in this presidential election will be cast early. Personally I like the hubbub of the polling place on election day,

Me, too. I think Election Day is exciting. When I go vote, I always end up hanging around my polling place for a while.

OTOH, early voting certainly makes it easier to vote, and given that we have fairly restricted voting hours (7 AM to 8 PM in PA), it makes it possible for more to vote. Of course, we don't have early voting here in Pennsylvania, and to vote absentee, you have to swear that either you'll be out of your district on election day, have a medical reason, or be over 65. (I did hear from Nathaniel that he'd received, filled out and returned his ballot. The kid has never gotten to vote in person yet.)

Tamar