Good turnout as US chooses president and legislators

Polling stations report a strong turnout as Americans vote for their next President - and for a dizzying list of lesser public posts, down to the proverbial dog-catcher.

Well, maybe not the dog-catcher. But in one state, Massachusetts, voters will be asked, along with their choice of President, whether they want to close their two dog tracks.

In a political system that makes MMP look as easy as a three-piece jigsaw puzzle, Americans are also voting for 34 places in the Senate and all 435 members of the House of Representatives.

Eleven states are electing governors, and in 23 states selecting their state governments, the balance of power is so narrow that parties' majorities hang by six seats or fewer.

Then there are the referendums - 200 of them in 42 states, covering subjects as diverse as doctor-assisted suicide in Maine, gay marriage in Nevada and Nebraska, medicinal use of marijuana in Nebraska and Colorado, and whether to start a lottery in South Carolina.

The sheer size of the task is sometimes blamed for the low turnouts that blight American democracy. Just under half the 200 million eligible people are likely to vote today.

The results should be known by 4 pm (NZ time), though the tiny hamlet of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, where all registered electors voted last night, has declared a result - a victory for Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush over Democrat Al Gore by 21 votes to 5.

In the last hours of the campaign the presidential contenders were still neck and neck in national opinion polls.

The presidential ballot is an indirect process.

Rather than vote directly for Mr Bush or Mr Gore, or Ralph Nader (Green), Pat Buchanan (Reform), Harry Browne (Libertarian), Howard Phillips (Constitution) or John Hagelin (Natural Law), voters select a slate of electors committed to vote for their presidential preference in an Electoral College.

A Reuters/MSNBC daily tracking poll last night detected last-minute momentum for Mr Gore.

Earlier polls gave Mr Bush 224 college votes, and Mr Gore 230.

The other 84 votes were too close to call.

A candidate needs 270 votes in the Electoral College to win.

About $9.6 billion has been spent on campaigns and advertising, $3.8 billion of it on the presidential race, though the battles for control of the Senate and House of Representatives are as close.

Latest polls suggest the Democrats will eat into the Republicans' 54-46 seat Senate lead.

In the House, only seven seats need to change hands for the Democrats to regain control.

In the race for the New York Senate seat, latest polls gave First Lady Hillary Clinton a clear lead over Republican Rick Lazio.

On the last-minute election trail Mr Gore went from Iowa to Missouri, with stops in Michigan and Florida.

After his 4800km trip, he returned to his home state of Tennessee to cast his ballot.

In a round of morning television shows yesterday, Mr Gore predicted the election would be "very, very close," but said he was confident of victory.

Mr Bush was equally convinced he would win.

"I like what I feel, but we can't take anything for granted," he said.

"We've worked hard and we'll make sure we turn out the vote."

The Texas Governor ended his 17-month quest with a late-night rally in his capital, Austin.

Candidates campaign to the very last minute

Electoral College votes crucial to presidency

Omens good for Hillary's Senate bid

* The Herald Online's coverage of voting in the US presidential election begins at noon today.