Millions of Americans have been queuing at polling stations to choose the 45th US president after a long and bitter contest between Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and her Republican rival Donald Trump .
Polling locations on Tuesday will continue to open across the US all the way to Hawaii, the state farthest to the west. About 40 million out of the more than 200 million registered voters have already cast their ballots in early voting, which is offered in 34 out of the 50 states.
In a kick-off midnight vote, the residents of tiny Dixville Notch in New Hampshire cast their traditional first-in-nation ballots with a total of eight votes - Clinton getting four and Trump, two.
The winner will be inaugurated on January 20 and will succeed Democrat Barack Obama, the nation's first African-American president, who has been at the helm since 2008. A candidate needs 270 Electoral College votes to become a president.
No full results or exit polls will be available before polling stations begin to close on the US East Coast from 7:00pm local time (00:00 GMT on Wednesday), and it may be three or more hours after that before the direction of the race becomes clear.
In Virginia horse country, balmy south Florida, and busy Manhattan long lines snaked into the streets outside voting stations.
"I'm excited. I can't believe I finally get to vote," said Jose Maria Molleda, 63, a new US citizen voting at a Presbyterian church in Clifton, Virginia, where a crowd of 150 gathered before dawn for the 6am local time poll opening in the swing state.
Clinton started her day by casting her vote in Chappaqua, New York, where she and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, have lived since he left office in 2001. If Clinton wins she will become the nation's first female president.
"I know the responsibility that goes with this," she said as she greeted people waiting at the polling station to see her. "So many people are counting on the outcome of this election and what it means for our country, and I'll do the best I can if I'm fortunate enough to win today."
Donald Trump cast his ballot at a school near his New York home, after which the Republican nominee quipped to reporters that it was a "tough decision" to make his voting choice.
"We'll see what happens, we'll see what happens. It's looking very good. Right now it's looking very good. It will be interesting," Trump said.
Clinton has a slim lead in the polls but no one was ruling out a Trump victory. A polling average by tracker site RealClearPolitics gave Clinton a 3.3-percentage point national lead, but Trump is closer or even has the advantage in several of the swing states that he must conquer to pull off an upset.
Radically different visions
As a nervous world watched and waited, Americans chose between radically different visions of the future of the world's biggest power offered by Clinton and Trump.
The 69-year-old former first lady, senator and secretary of state - backed by incumbent President Barack Obama - on Monday urged the country to unite and vote for "a hopeful, inclusive, big-hearted America" in her last bid to woo voters.
Trump meanwhile pressed his message with voters who feel left behind by globalisation and social change, wrapping up with a flourish on his protectionist slogan of "America first".
Promising to end "years of betrayal," tear up free trade deals, seal the border, halt the drug trade and subject Syrian refugees to "extreme vetting", Trump told his supporters in New Hampshire: "I am with you and I will fight for you and we will win."
Trump has repeatedly warned that a "corrupt Washington and media elite" is seeking to rig the race and he said last month that he may not concede defeat if he thinks voting is unfair.
Clinton has pushed a more optimistic vision, despite a wobble in the final weeks of her campaign when the FBI reopened an investigation into whether she had put US secrets at risk by using a private email server - only to close the probe again on Sunday .
The email investigation allowed Trump to recover ground lost in a series of recent scandals .
Voters are also electing candidates for 34 seats in the 100-member Senate and the entire 435-member House of Representatives. Both the House and Senate are now controlled by the Republicans.
With a dominance in Congress, the Republicans frustrated outgoing President Obama by rejecting many of his key legislative agendas.
A Trump victory, along with a Republican Congress, could mean a swift end for Obama's Obamacare health reforms.
To win control of the Senate, Democrats would have to score a net gain of five seats. Republicans currently hold 54 Senate seats to 44 Democratic seats and two independents who align themselves with Democrats.
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