Polls open in battleground state of Ohio

GlobalPost

The U.S. presidential election is five weeks away, but in Ohio voting has already begun.

Dozens of voters reportedly camped outside Ohio's Cuyahoga County Board of Elections this morning, eager to cast their ballot, according to Fox 8 News.

ABC News reported Ohio is one of 32 states (plus the District of Columbia) that allows no-excuse early voting, giving any registered voter the chance to head to the polls before election day and cast their ballot.

Last week, Iowa began its early voting, and some media predict at least one third of ballots - or 44million votes - will be cast before Election Day.

Fox 8 said that in 2008, President Barack Obama’s campaign benefited greatly from early voting. As such Mitt Romney camp’s is pushing for Republicans to catch up, hosting a number of Commit-to-Mitt rallies across the state today.

First Lady Michelle Obama will visit Cincinnati today to stress the importance of early voting, reported WDTN.

CBS News said despite being considered a battleground state, it considers Ohio to now be blue-leaning because of the consistent edge President Obama has had there.

It reported the latest Quinnipiac/CBS News/New York Times poll, which shows Obama with a 10-point lead over Mitt Romney in Ohio.

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