JACKSONVILLE, FLA., AND PITTSBURGH — With two wars and an economic calamity as the backdrop, American voters were poised to make history today, electing either the nation's first black president or its first female vice president.
Democrat Barack Obama was leading in polls in more than enough states to likely garner the 270 electoral votes needed to capture the White House, including some that have been Republican for a generation or more.
His travels Monday, shadowed by the death of the grandmother who helped raise him, illustrated Obama's advantage. He went to three states -- Florida, North Carolina and Virginia -- that President Bush won in both of his elections. The trips underscored how dramatically the lay of the nation's political landscape has shifted in the last four years.
His last stop, a late-night visit to Manassas in the northern Virginia suburbs, drew a crowd of more than 90,000.
Fighting to catch up, Republican John McCain set off on a dash across seven states, starting in Florida and ending, more than 20 hours later, in his home state of Arizona, where late polls showed a tightening contest. Except for Pennsylvania, which last voted Republican in 1988, McCain spent his day defending states that were in Bush's column in 2004.
A record 130 million or more Americans are expected to cast ballots in an election that has captivated the country like no campaign in decades, drawing stadium-size crowds and bigger TV ratings than "American Idol" and the World Series.
In California, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., with long lines expected in many places.
Both sides were on guard -- their lawyers standing by -- watching for voting irregularities after two straight presidential elections marked by balloting controversies. On Monday, there were scattered reports of dirty tricks, including a leaflet passed around black neighborhoods of Philadelphia that said police would be at the polls to arrest anyone with unpaid parking tickets.
For some, election day has already come and gone. More than 27 million votes have been cast in 30 states, a record turnout driven by the candidates' exhaustive get-out-the-vote efforts and the prospect of history happening no matter who wins today. A McCain victory would install Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in the highest elected U.S. office ever held by a woman. A win by Obama would hurdle the country's ultimate racial barrier.
