With the general election quickly approaching, both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama have stepped up their campaigning efforts, targeting 12 key swing states.

Gallup reports:

Voters in 12 key presidential election swing states have already been exposed to a large dose of campaign advertising, with 82% reporting having seen a campaign ad on television, compared with 62% of non-swing-state voters.

And the ads have been overwhelmingly negative.

Have you noticed an increase in negative campaign ads? Is this campaigning method effective?