US goes to the polls after tough campaign

7 Nov 2012, 6:09 am   -   Source: AP
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President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney have left voters with a stark choice between their fundamentally different visions for the country's future.

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Both sides cast Tuesday's decision as one with far-reaching repercussions for a nation still recovering from the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression and at odds over how big a role government should play in solving the country's staggering debt and high unemployment.

INTERACTIVE MAP: WATCH HOW AMERICA VOTES

After months of campaigning and billions of dollars spent in the battle for leadership of the world's most powerful country, Obama and Romney were in a virtual nationwide tie, a symptom of the country's vast partisan divide.

Obama appeared to have a slight edge, however, in some of the key swing states such as Ohio that do not vote reliably Democratic or Republican. That gives him an easier path to reach the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.

"I feel optimistic, but only cautiously optimistic," Obama said on The Steve Harvey Morning Show.

"Because until people actually show up at the polls and cast their ballot, the rest of this stuff is all just speculation."

Romney told Ohio voters to remember as they go to the polls that the country is hurting financially under Obama's policies. "If it comes down to economics and jobs, this is an election I should win," Romney told Cleveland radio station WTAM. Romney cast his vote near his Massachusetts home Tuesday morning.

The Republican challenger and running mate Paul Ryan later met in Cleveland for a rally in the state that could be the most crucial battleground of all, Ohio. The Midwestern industrial state has chosen the winner of the last 12 presidential elections, and no Republican has ever won the White House without carrying it.

Reflecting the state's importance, Vice President Joe Biden made an unannounced stop in Cleveland to play defence, arriving at the airport just before Ryan's charter was pulling in for a landing. Biden left the tarmac without comment to the surprised media travelling on his plane.

Romney also still had a rally in Pennsylvania, traditionally Democratic territory where the Republican has made a surprise and last-minute push - perhaps against all odds - to compensate for Obama's expected victory in Ohio.

Obama voted last month, a move intended to encourage early voting that tends to favour Democrats.

The president was spending Election Day in his hometown of Chicago, where he was met with applause and tears from volunteers as he entered a campaign office before picking up a phone to call voters in Wisconsin. He congratulated Romney on a "spirited campaign" and told reporters he's "confident we've got the votes to win but it's going to depend ultimately on whether those votes turn out."

Under the US system, the winner of the presidential election is not determined by the nationwide popular vote but in state-by-state contests. The candidate who wins a state - with Maine and Nebraska the exceptions - is awarded all of that state's electoral votes, which are apportioned based on representation in Congress.

The close race raised the possibility of a repeat of 2000, when the outcome was not known for weeks after protected recount in Florida and a Supreme Court decision. A narrow victory for either candidate is sure to deepen polarisation and leave the winner
without a strong mandate to face mounting problems -most pressingly, averting the "fiscal cliff" of higher taxes and deep automatic cuts in spending looming in January.

It wasn't just the presidency at stake on Tuesday: All 435 seats in the House of Representatives, a third of the 100 Senate seats, and 11 governorships were on the line, along with state ballot proposals on topics ranging from gay marriage to legalising marijuana.

Democrats were expected to maintain their majority in the Senate, with Republicans doing likewise in the House, raising the prospect of continued partisan wrangling no matter who might be president.

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