Early Returns in Knife-edge Poll

Polls closed and counting began in a majority of states tonight, putting four fifths of the crucial electoral college votes in play. Exit polls suggest there have been early disappointments for both sides, but no major upsets.

States that voted for George Bush in 2000 were called for the incumbent, while the challenger, John Kerry, picked up reliable Democrat states.

The only change on the 2000 result came in vote-splitting Maine - one of two states that allocates electoral votes proportionally - when it gave one of its four votes to Mr Bush.

A possibility of early drama was raised when Virginia was reported as being too close to call. Any hint that Mr Bush was not easily winning the state, which has not voted for a Democratic candidate since 1964, would have heartened Mr Kerry.

After more than an hour's agonising wait for the Bush campaign, it was called for the incumbent.

Democrat hopes in West Virginia were also dashed after it was called for Mr Bush. New Jersey, once thought to be in play for the president, was called for his challenger. Arkansas, a late hope for Mr Kerry, was called for Mr Bush.

Calling is not the same as a declaration - the analysis is based on exit polls and early counting - but US media groups insist their statistical models have been overhauled to avoid the errors of four years ago when Florida was first called for Al Gore and then for Mr Bush.

From the east coast to as far west as Wyoming, states were called for either side, but many of the most important were reported as being too close to call. The president declared himself "upbeat" and convinced of his re-election as calls trickled in.

New Hampshire, one of the 10 main swing states, closed its polls at midnight GMT (7pm local time) but has still not been called for either candidate. With 50% of the ballots counted, 40 votes separated Mr Bush and Mr Kerry.

In two of the three big swing states, Florida and Ohio, voting is continuing beyond the scheduled poll closing times.

Record numbers of Americans have voted, and election experts are predicting a turnout of 121 million - considerably higher than the 106 million who voted in 2000, and the highest proportion since 1960.

Reports said officials in Miami-Dade county in Florida, the scene of bitter post-election wrangles four years ago, were expecting 80% of all registered voters at the polling booths.

Mr Bush voted in Crawford, Texas, and Mr Kerry in Boston after both engaged in a spurt of unprecedented last-minute campaigning.

"I've given it my all," the president said after he voted. Mr Kerry, a senator for Massachusetts, was teary-eyed as he thanked his staff for their work over the campaign. "We made the case for change," he said.

Polling since Mr Kerry beat off challengers to the Democratic nomination in March suggested as tight a contest as 2000, but pro-Democrat political blogs - posting what they claimed was early exit poll data - gave the challenger a clear lead over Mr Bush.

Some called into question the results, which showed Mr Kerry with a 60-40 lead over Mr Bush in Pennsylvania on MyDD.com. Meanwhile, the Wonkette blog urged readers to take the figures with "huge tablespoons of salt".

In a final opinion poll, the respected pollster John Zogby, who came closest to the 2000 result, called the election for Mr Kerry in the electoral college.

His analysis gave the Democrat 311 votes, well above the 270 a successful candidate needs, but put Mr Bush ahead in the popular vote 49.4%-49.1%.

A contested result could lead to weeks of legal action. Both sides have prepared armies of lawyers to take the election battle to the courts.

For now, however, voters welcomed an end to the longest, most expensive election on record. "It's the only way to make the ads stop," Amanda Karel, of Columbus, Ohio, told the Associated Press as she queued to vote.