First poll booths open in US
The first presidential election since the US plunged into its war on terrorism was finally handed over to the voters today.
Polling booths opened in nine states at 11am irish time as millions of Americans gathered to vote in elections to select a president, 34 members of the US Senate, 435 members of the House of Representatives and 11 state governors.
The first polling booths open were in Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Vermont and Virginia.
A dizzying final dash across the Midwest and points south capped a campaign that found President George Bush and Democratic challenger Senator John Kerry deadlocked at every vital turn and stirred expectations that the country was highly motivated to vote.
“Today is decision day,” Mr Kerry told cheering supporters at an airport hanger in Toledo, Ohio, early this morning. “You have an opportunity now, this day, to make fundamental change in America, and the hopes of our country are on the line.”
The final pre-election polls turned up tied – 49-49 in one CNN-USA Today-Gallup survey, with Ralph Nader at 1%. Tight surveys in Florida and a variety of Midwestern states including Ohio deepened the mystery over who would collect the necessary 270 electoral votes.
Following a quirky tradition of post-midnight voting in New Hampshire’s North Country, 16 people voted for Mr Bush, 14 for Mr Kerry and one for Ralph Nader. Mr Bush beat Democrat Al Gore 17-13 in the hamlet in 2000.
The prospect of unprecedented legal challenges hung over Election Day, each side sending thousands of lawyers into motion to monitor the flood of newly registered voters and mount hair-trigger challenges against any sign of irregularity.
Mr Bush finished his last campaign with a noisy homecoming rally late last night that packed an overflow crowd of 8,000 into a basketball stadium in Dallas, a rare detour off the circuit of battleground states.
His supporters hoped the venue was a lucky charm – it was the same stadium where he held his last rally in his governor’s race 10 years ago, beginning an unbroken string of electoral success.
Mr Kerry stopped in Toledo en route to Wisconsin for the rest of the night. He was flying home to Boston to vote and await a verdict that no one could foretell with confidence.
