Can’t wait until polling day? Step this way to pull the handle

THE volume of early voting has taken all the parties by surprise.

Though only a limited number of early polling centres in some States have opened, they have been swamped by voters, with people sometimes queuing for four hours to “pull the handle” (they’ve had voting machines like slot machines over here for years).

Analysts estimate one fifth of all Americans will have voted before polling day. But the waverers, those who will decide the election, are more likely to be the last-minute merchants.