As expected, more Democrats voted early: Report

Chris Moody
·Political Reporter

CHICAGO—Bloomberg Businessweek reporter Joshua Green obtained voting data from a Democratic micro-targeting firm showing that more Democrats voted early instead of casting ballots on Election Day.

Below are the percentages of votes from each party in five battleground states. (The analysis is from Catalist, a data company whose president is Harold Ickes, a former White House deputy chief of staff to President Bill Clinton.) Colorado is almost even, with the largest gap in Ohio:

Colorado: 1,853,586 total votes—44% Democratic, 43% Republican, 12% Independent

Iowa: 658,387 total votes—50% Democratic, 37% Republican, 12% Independent

Ohio: 1,442,536 total votes—50% Democratic, 36% Republican, 14% Independent

Virginia: 316,158 total votes—42% Democratic, 36% Republican, 22% Independent

Wisconsin: 270,664 total votes—44% Democratic, 33% Republican, 23% Independent

Traditionally, more Republicans cast their ballots on Election Day, so the challenge for Democrats has been to encourage supporters to visit the polls early. Early voting was one of President Barack Obama's major themes on his swing-state campaign tours in the weeks leading up to the election.