The Democrats will begin a bus tour across North Carolina on Tuesday designed to heighten interest in early voting, which begins on Thursday.

The “Gotta Vote” Bus Tour, which will begin in Asheville, will feature Debbie Wasserman Shultz, Reps. G.K. Butterfield and David Price, former Congressman Bob Etheridge and other local and national figures.

The tour is being sponsored by the Democratic National Committee and the Obama campaign.

The tour is part of a national tour of battleground states leading up to the election.

Rob Christensen