CHEVY CHASE, Maryland, Nov 2 (AFP) - Voters in this affluent Maryland suburb strolled to the polls on Tuesday past tables manned by supporters of President George W. Bush and Democratic candidate John Kerry to cast their ballots in the finale of a bitter election campaign.
Pamphlets touting Bush and his running mate Dick Cheney or Kerry and his number two, John Edwards, were on offer at the party booths along with bumper stickers, lapel buttons, cookies (the Democrats) and pumpkin-shaped Halloween candy (the Republicans).
Kerry-Edwards and Bush-Cheney signs dotted leaf-strewn lawns and red, white and blue helium balloons spelling out K-E-R-R-Y danced in the breeze under blue sunny skies on an unseasonably warm November day.
Signs in English and Spanish pointed voters to the basement of the Chevy Chase Methodist Church where residents of this Democratic bastion were to cast ballots for president, senator, congressman, judges and amendments to the county charter.
Posters advertising "Friday Fun Night" and other church activities replaced the partisan clamor once voters descended a flight of stairs into the polling center for Maryland's Congressional District 8.
After waiting for about 45 minutes in lines separated alphabetically by last name -- A-K and L-Z -- voters approached folding card tables where they presented identification to election judges staffing the electoral rolls.
Neighbors and friends chatted amiably as they waited patiently in line. As if by some unwritten rule, little conversation was of the hard-fought election which has divided the country into Republican "red" and Democratic "blue."
One voter could be heard loudly trumpeting his Democratic upbringing, however, telling a friend he planned to serve "blue cocktails" in the evening and reminiscing about how his father refused to "even let Richard Nixon into the house on a television screen."
One elderly man helpfully tried to direct a woman he had not seen in years from the longer L-Z line to the smaller A-K line only to discover that her new married name placed her in the last half of the alphabet.
A trio of Republican poll watchers stood behind a registration table as judges flipped through the precinct registration lists until they found a voter's name and address.
Unlike in other states, the ability to challenge a voter's bona fides are limited in Maryland to verifying their identity and a judge at the polling place said no challenges had been made more than three hours after the polls opened at 7:00 am.
That was a disappointment to one Kerry supporter waiting in line. "I was hoping for some Republican lawyers here so I could get into a fight," he said jokingly.
A quick signature on the precinct register and voters were turned over to a judge handing out plastic electronic cards for the AccuVote Touch Screen polling machines.
After clicking the credit-card like access card into a slot in the machine resembling a personal computer, voters were given the choice of instructions in English or Spanish.
Bush and Kerry topped the ballot which also offered the choice of independent candidate Ralph Nader or the presidential hopefuls of the Green, Libertarian and Constitution parties.
A fingertip touch to the screen and a large "X" electronically registered in a box next to a voter's preference.
After completing their choices, voters touched a rectangular green box marked "Cast Ballot" and returned the plastic voting card to the nearest judge, who rewarded them with a sticker displaying an American flag and the words "I voted" in English and Spanish.
11/02/2004 19:04 GMT - AFP