Early voting to begin on Thursday in US, starting with North Carolina

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Voters in 32 United States (US) states and the capital Washington will be able to cast early ballots from Thursday ahead of the bitterly contested November presidential and legislative elections.

North Carolina gets the ball rolling on Thursday - the same day that US President Barack Obama will accept his party's nomination to seek a second term in the White House at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte.

In the weeks to come, millions of voters across the US will have the opportunity to cast ballots in nearly two-thirds of the country's 50 states, including the crucial battlegrounds of Florida, Colorado and Iowa.

According to analyst estimates, 40 per cent of eligible American voters could go to the polls early, as compared with 33 per cent who did so in 2008, when Mr Obama swept into office over Republican nominee John McCain.