By Ken Jackson
Staff Writer

Can’t wait until Nov. 6 to cast your ballot? Is the start of early voting on Saturday even too long to wait?

A grassroots group would like to remind you that, “every day is voting day.”

The Obama for America “Gotta Vote” Bus rolled into Kissimmee on Tuesday to make sure voters are aware that they can vote in person at the Supervisor of Elections office at U.S. Highway 192 and Partin Settlement Road by casting their absentee ballot on any day between now and Election Day.

Thanks to the Vote Now! program, those ballots can be filled out and returned right at the office.

Voters can also request an absentee ballot be mailed to them until Oct. 31. It must arrive at the SOE office by mail or by hand by 7 p.m. on Nov. 6.

The party’s emphasis on getting the vote out is part of a concerted effort to win the “epicenter of the epicenter”; Florida’s 29 electoral votes will be key to the presidential election, likely deciding if Barack Obama will win a second term or if Republican Mitt Romney will unseat him. Winning the I-4 corridor is considered key by most election pundits to winning this swing state; neither candidate has been able to claim more than a miniscule lead in the months leading up to the election.

Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who appeared with the “Gotta Vote” bus on Monday, echoed that.

“The I-4 corridor is critical to the campaign. It contains all of the key demographics, so you will see a sustained presence in the corridor,” she said. “Thank to our party’s grassroots campaign, we’ve taken the lead on absentee and early voting.”

Former Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, who was also on hand, echoed the sentiment and the importance of Florida in the election.

“This bus and the chairman of the Democratic Party could be anywhere else in the county. But Florida will make the difference in this race,” he said. “There is no more important state in the last 14 days of this election than Florida.”