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Heavy voter turn-out
03/11/2004 00:11 - (SA)
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| Roberto M Rojas of St Helena, California, walks to his polling place located at a winery in the Napa Valley. (Eric Risberg, AP) |
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Washington - Americans turned out in huge numbers on Tuesday to choose George W Bush or John Kerry as the next US president and the two rivals campaigned into election day to break the poll deadlock between them.
Up to 120 million people were expected to vote in the first presidential contest since 9/11 attacks and at the end of marathon, bitter campaign dominated by the war on terror and Iraq.
Long lines of voters were reported across the country, including the critical swing states of Ohio and Florida where some people queued for hours to vote for the Republican President Bush and his Democratic challenger.
Experts said the high turn-out could benefit Kerry. And US stocks turned negative after internet reports cited exit polls as saying that Kerry is putting in a strong early showing.
The kingpin Dow Jones Industrial Average faded late in the day with traders blaming a Drudge Report website account of preliminary exit polls which said Kerry was performing strongly.
But both candidates expressed confidence as they came to the longest and costliest presidential race in US history.
Bush and Kerry seemed more concerned that there should be no repeat of the 2000 election debacle when the Republican had to wait 36 tense days before being declared the winner.
"This election is in the hands of the people. And I feel very comfortable about that," Bush said as he voted in the fire station in his hometown of Crawford, Texas, accompanied by his wife and twin daughters.
"I think it's very important for it to end tonight," he said.
"I hope there aren't challenges. I hope America will vote according to the law today. "That's what I want. I'm confident that's what the president wants," Kerry said. Lawyers
Five late surveys gave Bush a statistically insignificant lead while Fox News showed Kerry leading by two points and the American Research Group had a 48-48% tie.
The winner needs a majority of the 538 electoral votes that decide the presidency and are awarded in separate, mostly winner-take-all, state contests.
While a reported one million volunteers on each side scrambled to get out the vote, thousands of Republican and Democratic lawyers waited in the wings poised to mount legal challenges in case of a disputed result.
Four years ago, Bush only won after a disputed recount in the state of Florida had to be settled by the US supreme court.
Some experts said turn-out could approach the record modern turnout of 63% in 1960, providing a measure of encouragement to Kerry who led Bush 61-36% among self-described new voters, according to an ABC News Poll.
Three states were generally seen as pivotal in the race: Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Kerry had to win two out of the big three states to have a chance at the presidency.
- AFP
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