I hear they’ve started voting early in some states back east. Ohio, for one, has opened up balloting for president and the word is that the early ballots are tilting significantly in President Obama’s favor.

Good for them Buckeyes.

As for me, I long have hated the idea of voting early and I will, as is my custom, wait until Nov. 6 to cast my ballot for president and a bunch of down-ballot races.

Why the loathing of early voting? Simple: I don’t like casting my lot with a candidate without knowing all there is to know about him/her prior to election day. Were I to vote early for a candidate and then learn something hideous about that person before election day, I’d regret that vote for the rest of my life. I recall once way down yonder in Orange County, Texas, when a county commissioner candidate was revealed to have committed an act of extreme sexual harassment. Early voting had begun and the paper where I worked had endorsed this guy. We withdrew the endorsement and backed his opponent. That’s the risk you run when you vote early.

It’s supposed to have boosted voter turnout. It hasn’t worked out that way in Texas, where turnout of registered voters remains among the lowest in the nation. All it’s done here is boost the number of Texans who vote early. The total turnout is still hovering around 50 percent of registered voters.

Early voting in Texas commences Oct. 22. I’m quite sure many voters will flock to the polls to cast their ballots early. Good for them, too.

I’ll just wait until Nov. 6 and then stand in line along with the rest of the late-comers.

Then I’ll vote … and hope nothing happens to embarrass any of my candidates between election day and the moment they take office.