Early voting changing ground game 22 (UPI) -- As many as 40 percent of all voters in this year's U.S. presidential election may cast ballots before Election Day, political analysts say. About one-third took advantage of early voting in 2008, The Washington Post reported Friday. That was up from 15 percent in 2000. While Election Day is still more than six weeks away on Nov. 6, about 3,000 mail ballots have already been returned in North Carolina and in-person early voting is under way in Idaho and South Dakota. Both President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney have adapted their campaign strategy to the trend. Obama, in Ohio Friday, reminded young people they can vote early. You can start showing up and voting on Oct. 2. That's 15 days away," he said. Young people, you got to use the early vote because you might not wake up in time on Election Day. I can't have you missing class. Rich Beeson, the Romney campaign's political director, told the Post the campaign is using Facebook and similar online tools in its get-out-the-early vote strategy. Early voters in past elections tended to be Republican but the Obama campaign in 2008 used early voting as a tool to get young and minority voters to the polls.