'Why wait?'

There's always something special about the first.  The first steps are pivotal, the first kiss is special,  the first cut is the deepest and the list goes on. And there's the pure glory that comes with being the first. There are those, such as George Washington the first president of the United States, who will be remembered just because they were the first (and ergo be the only president who has state named after him). And then there were thousands, who, on Monday, became the first to cast their votes for the 2008 presidential election.  

Those first voters didn't wait; they wanted to be first, and took part in what is called early voting. Early voting is a system that allows registered voters, in some states (click here for a state-by-state breakdown), to cast their votes prior to election day, either in person at their local county clerk's office or by mail. The latter, is synonymous with absentee voting, which allows people to send their ballots through the mail. 

Several states — such as Virginia, Kentucky and Georgia, which opened up the early voting polls this week — allow its constituents to cast their ballots early without an excuse. Other states, however, require an excuse from those wishing to vote early. 

In the coming weeks, more than half of the states and the District of Columbia, will allow their registered voters to make their pick for president well before election day, according to MSNBC. 

Paul Gronke of the Early Voting Information Center told MSNBC that as many as one-third of those registered will vote early this year. 

The drive for early voting, Pedro Cortés, the president of the National Association of Secretaries of State, said in USAToday, is to increase voter turnout and make the experience all the more convenient. 

"The operative word is options," he said. 

People like options, and when it comes to voting, we've got them. Vote by mail, stop by your county clerk's office and be the first. After all, who doesn't want to come in first? 

poll by twiigs.com