If November 4 seems too far away for you, if you’re really eager to vote, you’re not alone.

About 1/3 of Americans are expected to vote early in this election, giving this election the highest percentage of early voters ever. In the last election, 22 percent of voters cast an early presidential ballot; that number was 16 percent in 2000.

“Across the board, you’ve seen more people voting absentee, early voting. There’s more interest now than there was in years past. It’s a movement that has continued to gain in its popularity,” said said Tom Kise, regional communications director for John McCain’s campaign. Kise oversees communications in Kansas, as well as six other states.

This may be in part due to the campaigns’ proactive hunts for voters who are considering punching the ballot early.

“We aggressively go out searching for early voters, encouraging them to turn their ballots in,” he said.

He said staffers help early voters in turning in their ballots, showing them how to vote early or absentee, as well as assisting them in getting their ballots to the ballot box.

In Kansas, early voting starts Oct. 15 and ends Nov. 3.

So why vote early? It can’t be all about avoiding lines at the polls, right?

“Advance ballots cater to the American lifestyle,” says Andrew Toth, 19, president of the University of Kansas’ Young Democrats chapter. “Everything’s now, now, now. It’s conducive to our society’s general lifestyle.”

He says giving people an advance ballot, where they can see who is up for election, can give people time to become familiar with the candidates.

“It gives people a bit of time to research,” Toth said. He said Barack Obama and McCain have taken some of the focus away from important state and local elections.

“These (local) elections are important. It gives people some chance to realize that there are some other people out there.”

Lauren Pratti, 20, a KU junior from Overland Park, plans on voting early because she’ll be working the polls on Nov. 4.

But, she says, the ease of advance voting makes it convenient option.

“It's so much easier just to mail it in. I think there a lot of students that are in my position,” where they are perhaps too busy to make it to the polls on Election Day.

Though she says she’s heard of a lot of students who plan on casting their ballots early, some students are committed to upholding the Tuesday tradition: First-time voters.

But Pratti warns the voting process might be a pain in the neck.

“When that day comes, and you go to the polls at 9 .m., and you see all those people in line, it’s going to be a lot harder to make it to classes,” she said.

Toth agreed, saying the Tuesday vote makes it hard for students and working people to make it to polling places. Early voting is the solution.

“We’ve been pushing this as something you can get out of the way,” he said. “A lot of college students are awfully busy. … We’ve also been saying it’s kind of an insurance policy, because you can apply (for an early ballot), but don’t necessarily have to use it.”

Rather, you can fill out the ballot and drop it off at your local polling place.

Kise said advance voting also gives campaigns a leg up: “You can bank them (advance voters) early, and continue to focus on the folks who haven’t voted yet.”

Advance voting in Kansas begins Oct. 15. If you want to apply for an advance ballot, contact, you can visit the   Kansas Secretary of State’s Web site. Then all you have to do is research the candidates and make a decision.