Historic vote underway across America
Long lines form early at Eastern polling places. Daughters join Barack Obama as he casts his ballot in Chicago. John McCain votes amid cheers in Arizona and a hopeful Sarah Palin votes in Wasilla.
Reporting from Washington, D.C. — All over the country, a record number of Americans are standing in lines today to vote for history as Democrat Barack Obama bids to become the first African American president and Republican John McCain attempts one more comeback in a career filled with them.
Obama, 47, voted early in his Chicago precinct, arriving with his wife, Michelle, and their two daughters soon after the polls opened. The Obamas filled out their ballots in adjoining booths, with daughters Malia and Sasha standing between them and sometimes yawning.
For almost everyone else, election day 2008 was anything but a yawn.
As 6 a.m. dawned on the Eastern Seaboard, long lines formed, with voters showing up two hours before the polls opened. In New York, a spokeswoman for the city's Board of Elections, Valerie Vazquez-Rivera, said many people began lining up as early as 4 a.m. at some polling places to avoid long lines, leading to false rumors that the polling places were not opening on time. In Virginia, Ahmed Bowling lined up before the 6 a.m. opening because, he said, this election "will mark a significant change in the lives of all Americans, and so we do have to come out as early as possible to cast our votes."
McCain, accompanied by his wife, Cindy, arrived at the Albright United Methodist Church shortly after 9 a.m. Mountain Time to cast his vote. Supporters cheered and one shouted, "Thank you, Senator! We love you!" Photographers chased McCain and peered through the window as he sat down at a table, filled out what appeared to be a form, licked an envelope, and then walked over to hand it to poll workers.
The Arizona senator left the polling place wearing a sticker on his right lapel that read, "I voted today."
McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin stopped by a coffee shop in her hometown of Wasilla on her way to the polls. For TV cameras, she held up the local newspaper with a headline saying "Board Exonerates Palin," a reference to a state board's decision that Palin committed no ethical violation in firing the commissioner of state troopers. "Nice headline," said Palin, who if elected would become the first female vice president in U.S. history.
"It was exciting," she said after voting at Wasilla City Hall. She said she was glad to be home. "Forever I'm going to be Sarah from Alaska," she said, adding that being a local mayor is "great training ground" for higher office, as it is the "most responsive" of any elected office.
