I had no idea the numbers were so high. I think on balance its a good thing, as it lessens the election day crush and a wider voter window gets more people in to the polls. Here in Maryland we passed early voting this year, so I expect that number of advance voters to get way higher in 2010 and 2012.
I loved early voting! It was pressure-free (I went on a Sunday afternoon.)The pollworkers, volunteers, and the people in line were all very polite, pleasant, and civil. I hope this spreads to every jurisdiction in the US.
Without digging into the stats, I bet that 75% of the early voters were for Obama. Dems remember the lines when 4 out of 5 voting machines broke down, causing 10-12 hour waiting lines.
Republicans supply not enough shitty voting machines to heavy D districts. Dems counter with early voting.
Next?