AMERICANS TURN OUT FOR VOTING

Since 6 a.m. EST (1100 GMT) yesterday, tens of millions of Americans have been flocking to polling stations throughout the country to cast their votes.

Outside the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, one of the polling stations in downtown Washington D.C., hundreds of people were waiting quietly for their turn to vote. They had arrived hours before voting started and many of them said they would go to work right after casting their ballot.

"I'm here to vote for America," a middle-aged black woman said.

Many black voters were not too reluctant to voice their support for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. "Of course, I'm going to vote Obama," an outspoken Dana Price told Xinhua. "He represents change. Change is always better."

"Change," Obama's rousing election slogan, has become the No.1 reason for countless voters to vote for the first black presidential hopeful in the US history.

When asked about Obama's ability to lead the United States to tackle the worst global financial crisis in some 80 years, many voters expressed confidence in the Democratic White House hopeful.

"The ongoing economic crisis is above the single government level. It needs international regulations. But Obama can do something," said a woman who declined to be identified.

The White voters appeared more cautious about making a comparison between Obama and his 72-year old Republican rival John McCain. "It will be a historic day for either Obama or McCain," said a U.S. Navy lieutenant.

OBAMA, MCCAIN READY TO MAKE HISTORY

Early on Election Day, Senator Obama for Illinois voted at an elementary school in Chicago, where he was welcomed by cheerful voters.

"The journey ends," he told reporters. But the Democrat hopeful continues his trip for Indiana, one of so called battleground states for the White House race.

His rival McCain, finished voting at a church in Phoenix, Arizona, also continues trips for the battleground states of Colorado and New Mexico for a final bid for the race.

In Virginia, so called "John McCain Country" and another battleground state in which McCain's national campaign headquarters based, most voters interviewed by Xinhua have showed their tendency to Obama.

"I voted for Obama because he represents the beginning of a 'post-racial' American society, the diversity, tolerance and strength of American people. ... His personal success sets a great example for my children, who are first generation American-born Chinese," Xu Gang, a senior lawyer at Morrison & Foerster lawyers firm, told Xinhua.

Latest polls showed Obama leading in most battleground states, leaving McCain with only the narrowest possible path to victory Tuesday night. The 72-year-old candidate, however, said he was confident of winning the election.

First polling stations close at 2300 GMT in Kentucky and Indiana, and the latest, in Alaska, at 0600 GMT today.

Regardless of who finally wins the presidential race, history will be made in the United States.

If Obama wins, he will be the first African-American to become the US president and his vice-presidential running mate Joe Biden would be the first Roman Catholic vice president.

On the other hand, if McCain wins he will bring with him the first female vice president in US history, Sarah Palin. A McCain victory would also make him the oldest US president to take office.