Long lines as Americans vote

NEW YORK - Millions of Americans went to the polls on Tuesday to elect the next President of the US, deciding whether Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain was better suited to guide the nation through an economic crisis at home and two wars abroad.

Monday night polls found that Obama is poised to clinch the election and to become the first African-American to win the White House.

Trends from early votes cast showed Obama was leading to become first black president of the US, while opinion polls also gave the Democratic White House hopeful a seven-point lead over his rival Republican candidate.

Polls opened across the country amid signs of heavy turnout for the election between McCain and Obama, with lines forming early at many voting sites and experts cautioning that the day could be marked by long delays in getting voters to the polls and ballots counted.

Voters lined up at polling locations up and down the East Coast, in what election officials said was an unprecedented level of turnout.

In tiny Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, which casts its ballots just after midnight, Obama won 15 votes to McCain’s 6. President George W Bush won the vote there in 2004. It was the first time the town had voted for a Democrat since 1968.

In Richmond, Virginia, the capital City of a battleground State, voters stood in line through a steady drizzle, sipping coffee and reading newspapers, as election officials offered voting instructions.

Whoever wins, the election will make history. If Obama is elected, he will become the nation’s first African-American President. And if McCain wins, his running-mate, Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska, will be the first woman elected Vice-President.

Leaving nothing to chance, he and his Republican rival John McCain campaigned even on the election day across crucial swing states in last-ditch efforts for support.