Partial early ballots: Dem voters outnumber GOP nearly 2 to 1

Democratic early voters outnumber Republicans in key states, according to incomplete election statistics, suggesting a surprising break from traditional trends, said analysts.

Just a week before a historic Election Day, registered Democrats in North Carolina are out-voting Republicans by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, according to official election statistics.

The state is seen as a crucial battleground for Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama.

The turnout by Democrats also appears to be higher in at least two other battleground states, Colorado and Nevada, whose electoral votes could make the difference for either White House hopeful.

As of Tuesday, at least 9,813,052 ballots had been cast in 31 states that allow early, in-person or absentee voting without having to provide an excuse. The figures are based on reports from state election officials.

Of those votes, at least 1.2 million ballots have been cast by registered Democrats and at least 731,200 by registered Republicans.

As with early voting statistics in every state -- these are not election results. Voters who are registered with a political party don't always vote for that party's candidates.

But the numbers suggest that this election is shattering traditional early voting patterns reflected by years of data. Historically, more Republicans than Democrats have taken part in early voting. - cnn