Pivotal state begins early voting in the US

Ohio voters have started casting ballots in the state that may again determine the US presidency, as Barack Obama struggles to thwart a John McCain victory there four years after it tipped the election to George Bush.

Both candidates visit often while spending millions of dollars flooding TV and radio with advertisements, mailboxes with literature and even voicemail with automated phone calls to get supporters to the polls, particularly during the one-week window in which people can register and vote in one swoop well before next month’s election.