Obama, Romney focus on getting out the vote

From now until Election Day, expect to be hearing a lot about the ground game and the efforts by President Obama and Mitt Romney to get out the vote.

Buoyed by Romney's strong debate performance last week, the Republican National Committee reports that 30,000 volunteers hit the streets on "Super Saturday" to make 2.5 million voter contacts.

"The commitment shown by our volunteers will carry us to victory," RNC political director Rick Wiley wrote in a memo Tuesday. "Many Americans are signing up and getting involved for the first time this cycle as the choice in this election becomes clearer."

President Obama's campaign has touted its get-out-the-vote offices — some of which didn't close after the 2008 campaign — especially in the battleground states where the race is being fought the hardest. Adam Fetcher, a spokesman for Obama for America, said Republicans are "playing catch-up."

"It's one thing for the Romney campaign to build a turnkey turnout operation in the states, especially compared to the minimal field organization Republicans mustered in 2008, but they missed the biggest window for persuading undecided voters and are now playing catch-up," Fetcher said in an e-mail.

Obama's party also has a voter registration edge in Iowa and Ohio, according to the Associated Press. Tuesday is the deadline to register to vote in 17 states, including swing states such as Pennsylvania, Florida and Ohio.

Both parties are also concentrating on making the most out of early voting, already underway in 30 states.

In 2008, Obama racked up big leads in Colorado, Florida, Iowa and North Carolina during the early voting period — and he won each of those states despite losing the vote there on Election Day, an AP analysis shows.

"We've made early investments in battleground states to grow strong roots in neighborhoods across the country and keep an open conversation going with undecided voters for months. That takes time and it will make the difference on Nov. 6," Fetcher said.

Wiley said Republicans are out to reverse what happened four years ago. In Colorado, Florida, Iowa and North Carolina, he said Republicans have requested more absentee ballots than Democrats. (No votes are actually counted until Election Day.)

Obama "will not have the same early vote lead this year because our Absentee Balloting operation is producing promising results," Wiley wrote in his memo.

One state to watch: Ohio. No Republican has ever won the White House without carrying the Buckeye State, and the competition between Obama and Republican is heavy. The AP reports Democrats have a slight edge among Republicans who have requested absentee ballots, but the numbers are so far small for such a large state.