Long lines greeted US voters on Tuesday as polls across the country were deluged by people wanting to cast ballots in this historic race between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.

In Maryland, considered to be a solid Democratic state, queues formed for blocks around polling stations.

Voters also formed long lines at polling sites in New York, a state that is also leaning towards Obama. In Harlem, some residents said they felt a sense of history being made.

The region has a long history as an African-American neighbourhood in Manhattan, with a rich cultural heritage.

Obama is expected to win traditionally-Democratic New York and its 31 electoral college votes – the winner must receive 270 electoral college votes.

Meanwhile, in the national capital, election officials were bracing for a record turnout as voters in the majority-black city got a chance to cast their ballots for a candidate who could become the first black President.

Obama was expected to win the District of Columbia’s three electoral votes by an overwhelming margin over McCain in a city where three-quarters of the voters are registered Democrats.

Americans also went to the polls in Virginia, a key battleground state with 13 Electoral College votes, that is also leaning towards Obama, despite historically being Republican.

No Democrat presidential candidate has won there since 1964.

In Pennsylvania voters were greeted with long lines as they arrived at polling places even before polls opened.

The state is a bellwether and considered a microcosm of the US with its large cities and rural areas. Its 21 electoral votes are crucial to the McCain campaign, but Obama can afford to lose it and still carry the White House.

Voters in Harrisburg spoke of their excitement and history being made.

In Atlanta, the capital of the US state of Georgia, many early voters were African-Americans eager to make history by voting in the country’s first African-American President.

But the state, which has 15 electoral votes, is leaning towards a win for Republican John McCain.
In the battleground state of Florida, a long line of voters in Tallahassee waited in the early morning dark for a precinct poll to open.

The Sunshine State is electoral vote rich with 27 up for grabs, and recent polls suggest it could go either way.

Republicans expected it to remain in their camp, but Obama has campaigned hard, putting the state into contention.

Florida played a pivotal role in the 2000 presidential race.

In Ohio, another battleground state too close to call in the election, lines began forming outside polling places in the capital, Columbus more than an hour before the polls opened at 0630 EST (1130 GMT).

Polls showed Obama slightly ahead, but in a campaign that has been remarkably unpredictable, Obama and McCain aides alike were bracing for a long night.

No Republican has ever won the White House without carrying Ohio and only two Democrats have done so. The state has voted for the winning candidate in every election since 1964.

Voters also formed long lines in Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri.

In California, the nation’s most populous state with the most electoral votes at 55 at stake, some county officials say they’re expecting 80 percent turnout or more from voters eager to help elect the first black president or the first woman vice president.

Long lines were also present at some polling places in Phoenix, Arizona, McCain’s home state.
The southwestern state has 10 electoral votes on offer, which are likely to go to McCain despite Senator Obama’s making inroads into the state in the last week or so.

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