Clutching cups of coffee or the morning paper, voters flocked to polling stations on Tuesday to cast their ballots in the hard-fought race for the White House between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.

At the St. Jane Frances de Chantal Catholic church on the outskirts of Washington, several dozen voters waited patiently under grey skies for the polls to open at 7:00 am (1200 GMT).

Early turnout was even higher at nearby Lafayette Elementary School in Chevy Chase, an affluent, strongly Democratic neighborhood of lawyers, lobbyists, government employees and educators.

`I`ve never seen it like this,` said Alice Hayes, a hospital administrator who said she was so excited `I couldn`t sleep.` `I hope to see a change in this country,` Hayes said, echoing Obama`s campaign theme.

While turnout was heavy, voting was moving smoothly in Maryland as voters used paper ballots or touch screens to tick off their choices for president, the House of Representatives, local judges and ballot initiatives.