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Across many parts of the US, people are being asked to vote for the Republican candidate they think should go to head to head against Barack Obama in November's presidential election.

With seven months to go before the the big day it's still far from certain if the president has done enough to earn another victory.

Back in 2008 the votes of young people in America played a big part in helping him get elected.

He came to power with promises of hope and change for America.

For some though, he's failed to live up to the big expectations.

Kayla James and Jennifer Allen both study at the University of North Carolina and will be first time voters in November.

Kayla told Newsbeat: "I feel like he has been a disappointment because he promised so many things.

"He said he would fix the economy but for me. It feels like the situation is now even worse."

Jennifer agreed: "He definitely hasn't lived up to expectations. A lot of presidents in the past have done far more than what he has managed in the last four years.

"When it comes to November I think I'll swing more to the Republican side."

US elections involve a contest between two main parties, with Barack Obama representing the Democratic Party.

For the last few months their rivals, the Republican Party, have been choosing who their presidential candidate should be.

By the end of Super Tuesday, as today is known, it should be a lot clearer.

For years North Carolina has mainly voted for the Republican candidate but that changed in 2008 when Barack Obama picked up the most votes.

He'll be hoping for a similar success in November.

The major factor that is likely to influence his chances is the state of the US economy.

Michael Sharpe is 18 and out of work.

He said: "For me he needs to do a better job of boosting the economy. I'm unemployed and have been looking for a job for the past three months."

When Barack Obama became president, America was already in the middle of an economic crisis.

Over the next few months his job is to convince people he has done enough to get the country back on track.

Recent figures show the economy is slowly starting to recover with unemployment falling to its lowest rate since 2009.

Ian Johnson, 25, voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and says he intends to do the same again.

He said: "The economy is getting better every day, more and more people are working.

"I don't think it looked as pretty as people thought it would look.

"It's been difficult but you can't fix a major world economy in a short amount of time."