Washington - Long queues formed outside polling booths across the United States on Tuesday amid predictions of a record turnout for one of the tightest presidential elections in decades.
In Arlington, Virginia, about 20 people were already waiting when the doors opened at 06:00 at a polling station in a local community centre. By 07:30 the line of those waiting to vote stretched back three blocks.
Within a few hours, voters were being warned that they could be in for a wait of more than two hours before being able to cast their ballots.
People stood in line patiently, reading books or newspapers, while some called into work on their mobile phones to warn that they would arrive late.
With the Republican and Democrat parties deploying millions of volunteers to mobilise the vote, some observers have suggested the national turnout could be as high as 120 million, a significant jump on the 106 million who voted in 2000.
In the key state of Florida, which was at the epicentre of the legal storm that rocked the 2000 poll, the main complaint this time was the long lines that forced some voters to wait up to an hour before casting their ballots.
In West Palm Beach, queues formed as soon as polling stations opened, and there were already complaints of alleged malpractice, with some voters telling election monitors that they had received leaflets and telephone calls trying to send them to the wrong polling booths.
Queues in Ohio
There were similar waits at polling stations in Ohio, another key swing state.
In a queue that at 06:30 local time snaked far out the door of a church community centre just outside Columbus, the state capital, Shelley Orwick, 24, a university research assistant, waited about an hour to cast her ballot.
"I can't believe how many people there are in line. I didn't believe it when they said they were expecting record turnout. They say that every year and it never happens," Orwick said.
In Bethesda, Maryland, early arrivals were equally surprised to find themselves waiting in line.
"In a place where I have never had to line up before, there were lines going all the way out past the parking lot," said one disgruntled voter.
A large turnout is seen as possibly favouring the Democratic challenger, John Kerry, whose support was high among self-described new voters.
