STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: The northeastern superstorm arrives in a stormy election season. Millions of people have already voted, and we're eight days away from Election Day, which is when a good campaign organization gets out its voters. Political pros note that superior organization can add a couple of percentage points to your total - enough to transform an election that's this close. We have reports, now, on the get-out-the-vote efforts in two battleground states, starting with NPR's Greg Allen in Miami, Florida.</s>GREG ALLEN, BYLINE: Early voting began this weekend in Florida. And in Miami, it started with singing.</s>GREG ALLEN, BYLINE: Yesterday, African-American ministers across the state took the early vote message directly to their congregations. At New Birth Baptist Church in Miami, the guest speaker was activist and minister Al Sharpton. He talked about the civil rights struggle over the right to vote; and the Romney agenda, one he said would hurt African-Americans.</s>GREG ALLEN, BYLINE: THE REV. AL SHARPTON: Everything that we fought for, is at stake. So if you don't appreciate the past, you'd better vote for the present.</s>GREG ALLEN, BYLINE: President Obama carried Florida, four years ago. This election, though, most statewide polls show Republican Mitt Romney with a narrow lead. Democrats are hoping they can take advantage of early voting, and mobilize enough Obama supporters to prove those polls wrong.</s>GREG ALLEN, BYLINE: Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami.
In the closely contested battleground state of Florida, the Obama campaign is trying to drive up the number of votes from its base. A key mechanism is the network of black churches throughout the state.