You may recall that Al Gore carried Iowa by two votes per precinct, but did you know that early voting gave Gore his margin of victory here?

I explained why I vote early here, and Justus wrote a more comprehensive piece on the subject at BooMan Tribune.

Every vote Democrats bank early reduces the chance of losing votes through illness or family emergencies. Every vote Democrats bank early means one less phone number for volunteers to call, and one less door for canvassers to knock on election day.

The Obama campaign in Iowa is running 21 phone banks today to promote early voting. There will also be 17 “vote early for change” supporter gatherings tomorrow morning across the state. Details for all those events are after the jump.

Even if you don’t have time to volunteer today or tomorrow, keep your eye out for anyone you know who might be willing to vote before election day. On Tuesday I ran into an elderly neighbor whose husband has a lot of health problems. She’s got her hands full, so I asked her if she needed absentee ballot request forms. She said that would be wonderful–she hadn’t had time yet to look into how that worked. I went home and called the Obama precinct captain in my neighborhood, and she had a volunteer run the forms over a few hours later.

Remember to tell your friends and family that they should fill out the whole ballot and not just vote for Barack Obama. We need to win those down-ticket races.

Also remember that there are many ways to volunteer that do not involve calling strangers on the phone or knocking on strangers’ doors.

You can bring food to a campaign headquarters, offer to sort literature for the canvassers, put up an out-of-town volunteer in your spare room, or even do laundry or errands for a campaign staffer. Or, just call your local campaign office to ask what kind of help they need.

“Vote early for change” events organized by the Obama campaign:

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH, 2008

Ames

5:00 PM

“Vote Early for Change” Phone Bank

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

303 Welch Ave

Ames, Iowa

Boone

5:00 PM

“Vote Early for Change” Phone Bank

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

1328 S Marshall

Boone, Iowa

Carroll

5:30 PM

“Vote Early for Change” Phone Bank

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

225 W. 4th St.

Carroll, Iowa

Cedar Rapids

5:30 PM

“Vote Early for Change” Phone Bank

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

1229 1st Ave SE

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Clinton

5:00 PM

“Vote Early for Change” Phone Bank

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

224 22nd Place

Clinton, Iowa

Council Bluffs

5:30 PM

“Vote Early for Change” Phone Bank with state House candidate Kurt Hubler

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

117 N 16th St.

Council Bluffs, Iowa

Decorah

5:00 PM

“Vote Early for Change” Phone Bank

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

421 W Water

Decorah, Iowa

Des Moines

6:30 PM

“Vote Early for Change” Phone Bank with Mayor Frank Cownie, State Representative Janet Petersen, County Supervisor Tom Hockensmith, and County Attorney John Sarcone

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

1408 Locust St.

Des Moines, Iowa

Dubuque

5:00 PM

“Vote Early for Change” Phone Bank with State Representative Pam Jochum

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

2600 Dodge St. – Ste B4

Dubuque, Iowa

Grinnell

5:00 PM

“Vote Early for Change” Phone Bank

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

829 Commercial Street

Grinnell, Iowa

Independence

5:00 PM

“Vote Early for Change” Phone Bank

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

204 1st Street East

Independence, Iowa

Indianola

5:00 PM

“Vote Early for Change” Phone Bank

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

602 N Jefferson Way

Indianola, Iowa

Iowa City

5:30 PM

“Vote Early for Change” Phone Bank with Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

625 S. Dubuque St.

Iowa City, Iowa

Iowa Falls

5:30 PM

“Vote Early for Change” Phone Bank

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

210 Main Street

Iowa Falls, Iowa

Knoxville

5:30 PM

“Vote Early for Change” Phone Bank

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

206 E Robinson St.

Knoxville, Iowa

Marshalltown

5:00 PM

“Vote Early for Change” Phone Bank

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

12 W Main Street

Marshalltown, Iowa

Mason City

5:30 PM

“Vote Early for Change” Phone Bank with State Senator Amanda Ragan

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

517 1st NW

Mason City, Iowa

Sioux City

5:30 PM

“Vote Early for Change” Phone Bank with State Representative Wes Whitehead, State Representative Roger Wendt, House candidate Carlos Venable-Ridley and County Supervisor Mark Monson

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

506 Nebraska St.

Sioux City, Iowa

Tipton

5:00 PM

“Vote Early for Change” Phone Bank

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

505 Cedar Street

Tipton, Iowa

Waterloo

5:30 PM

“Vote Early for Change” Phone Bank

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

500 Jefferson Street, Suite A

Waterloo, Iowa

Waukee

5:00 PM

“Vote Early for Change” Phone Bank

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

144 E Laurel Street

Waukee, Iowa

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH, 2008

Ames

5:00 PM

“Vote Early for Change” Rally with State Senator Rich Olive, and State Representatives Lisa Heddens and Beth Wessel-Kroeschell and County Supervisor Jane Halliburton

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

303 Welch Ave

Ames, Iowa

Cedar Rapids

7:30 AM

“Vote Early for Change” Supporter Gathering

Panera

315 3rd Ave. SE

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Clinton

7:30 AM

“Vote Early for Change” Supporter Gathering with State Represenative Polly Bukta

The Riverside Café

305 S 2nd St.

Clinton, Iowa

Council Bluffs

7:30 AM

“Vote Early for Change” Supporter Gathering

Dunkin’s Coffee Shop

501 S. Main St. – Suite 1a

Council Bluffs, Iowa

Decorah

7:30 AM

“Vote Early for Change” Supporter Gathering with congressional candidate Becky Greenwald

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

421 W Water

Decorah, Iowa

Des Moines

7:45 AM

“Vote Early for Change” Supporter Gathering

Java Joe’s

214 4th St.

Des Moines, Iowa

Dubuque

7:30 AM

“Vote Early for Change” Supporter Gathering with State Representative Pam Jochum

Café Manna Java

269 Main Street

Dubuque, Iowa

Elkader

7:30 AM

“Vote Early for Change” Supporter Gathering and Office Opening

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

110 Mulberry St.

Elkader, Iowa

Fort Dodge

8:00 AM

“Vote Early for Change” Supporter Gathering

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

33 N 12th St.

Fort Dodge, Iowa

Independence

7:30 AM

“Vote Early for Change” Supporter Gathering with State House candidate Gene Ficken

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

204 1st Street East

Independence, Iowa

Iowa City

7:30 AM

“Vote Early for Change” Supporter Gathering

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

625 S. Dubuque St.

Iowa City, Iowa

Maquoketa

8:00 AM

“Vote Early for Change” Supporter Gathering and Office Opening

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change/Jackson County Democrats office

124 W Platte St.

Maquoketa, Iowa

Mason City

7:30 AM

“Vote Early for Change” Supporter Gathering

Borealis Coffee Shop

316 N Federal Ave

Mason City, Iowa

Sioux City

8:00 AM

“Vote Early for Change” Supporter Gathering with County Chair Dave Somsky and Al Sturgeon

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

506 Nebraska St.

Sioux City, Iowa

Tipton

8:00 AM

“Vote Early for Change” Supporter Gathering with State Senate candidate Sharon Savage

Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office

505 Cedar St.

Tipton, Iowa

Waukon

7:30 AM

“Vote Early for Change” Supporter Gathering with Allamakee County Auditor candidate Colleen Gragg

S&D Café

13 W Main

Waukon, Iowa

Waverly

7:30 AM

“Vote Early for Change” Supporter Gathering with Bremer County Dems Chair, Rod Drenkow

Klink’s Koffee

112 10th St. SW

Wavery, Iowa