WASHINGTON (AFP) - Long queues formed outside polling booths across the United States amid predictions of a huge turnout for one of the tightest presidential elections in decades.
In Arlington, Virginia, around 20 people were already waiting when the doors opened at 6:00 am (1100 GMT) at a polling station in a local community center. By 7:30 am (1230 GMT), 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 Democratic parties deploying millions of volunteers to mobilize 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 epicenter of the legal storm that rocked the 2000 poll, the main complaint this time around were the long lines that forced some voters to wait for more than one hour.
In West Palm Beach, queues formed as soon as polling stations opened, and there were already complaints of alleged wrongdoing, with some voters telling election monitors that they had received leaflets and telephone calls trying to send them to the wrong polling booths.
A large turnout is seen as possibly favouring the Democratic challenger, John Kerry, whose support was high among self-described new voters.
Kerry`s vice presidential running mate, Senator John Edwards, who was in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, said the size of the turnout would have a decisive say on the outcome.
"It`s critical. It`s absolutely critical ... particularly if new registrants vote, young voters who could have a huge impact on this election," Edwards told CBS.
"That`s why we`ve been urging people to early vote in states where early voting is permitted," he said.
A total of 23 states allowed voting before election day.
There were similar waits at polling stations in Ohio, another key swing state.
In a queue that at 6:30 local time (1230 GMT) snaked far out the door of a church community center 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 faced with a long wait.
"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.
Some voters were happy with the long queues, seeing them as evidence of a galvanised electorate in a country where turnout in presidential contests has struggled to stay above the 50 percent mark since the 1970s.
"I`ve voted here a dozen times before," said David Kenny, 65, as he waited outside a polling station in Washington DC. "Usually you just walk in or there are five people outside waiting. The line doesn`t seem to get any shorter. It`s good news."
Diane Loomis was equally upbeat after standing in line for two hours in Arlington.
"It gave me faith that people truly believe their vote counts and that is it imperative that they exercise their right," Loomis said.
11/02/2004 - 16:52 GMT - AFP