Americans braved long lines at polling stations across the United States on Tuesday to vote in a landmark election which will see the country`s first black president or its first female vice president.

From Chicago in the midwest to the Carolinas in the east and California in the west, Americans trooped to the polls in what appeared to be record numbers to choose between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.

In Chicago, Roby Clark, a 92-year-old African-American who suffered racial slurs and harassment while serving in the army and living in the south, could hardly believe he would be able to vote for a black candidate for president.

`I think that we`re gonna get him,` Clark said as he stood outside a Baptist church on the south side of the city waiting to cast his ballot. `Through God`s blessings, I think we`re gonna get him.`

Even NASA astronauts got to vote in space, as turnout across the United States was reported to be heavy at the climax of the longest and most expensive presidential race in US history.

In California, the last major state to being voting, voters were casting ballots not just for a new president but also on the future of same-sex marriages in their state and a dozen other legal propositions.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, queueing up to vote in the Hancock Park section of the city, said turnout appeared to be the highest in decades.

The troubled economy was the top issue for many voters in Columbus, Ohio, where McCain has been trying to make inroads with blue collar Americans.

He didn`t get the vote of Darius Thomas, 29, an unemployed construction worker. He`s supporting Obama.

`These days, no one is hiring, stores are closing, people are losing their homes and crime is rising. It`s getting worse and worse,` Thomas said.

Obama, the 47-year-old senator from Illinois bidding to become America`s first African-American president, led in the final opinion polls going into the race including in Ohio and traditionally Republican Virginia.

In Blacksburg, Virginia, Norma Jean Lundis said she cast her ballot for McCain, the 72-year-old senator from Arizona and Vietnam War hero.

`McCain stands for what I believe in -- less government, lets me control my money, the right to bear arms, life begins at conception, marriage between man and woman,` she said. `He`s a true American hero.`

In Lake Worth, Florida, the southern state considered crucial to the hopes of both Obama and McCain, Jenna Sokolobsky said she voted for McCain too.

`My brother has served four times in Iraq and I like his stance on protecting our country,` said the 24-year-old from Boynton Beach.

Laura Burke, 46, of Lake Worth, went for Obama. `There was no way in hell I would put Sarah Palin in the presidency. The running mates is what it came down to for me,` she said in a reference to McCain`s choice for vice president.

In Miami, where Cuban-Americans traditionally vote Republican, there were indications of a generational split this time around.

`The Cubans that voted for Obama are young people who were born here,` said Enrique Perdomo, 73, speaking with friends in a Little Havana community center converted into a polling place.

`The older people that know what happened in Cuba tried to tell them to vote for McCain, but they are big now and don`t obey,` he lamented.

In the Houston, Texas, suburb of Cypress, Obama supporters were hard to come by and the Republican ticket’s stance on abortion seemed to be a big draw for many.

Crista Merrell, a 32-year-old mother of three, said she cast her vote for McCain and Palin because she aligned with them on moral issues.

`My family and I are strongly pro-life,` she said. `A lot of times we align with the Democrats on economic policy but some issues we feel strong about and that includes pro-life and how we define marriage.`

Amanda Jones, 29, said she voted for McCain-Palin and `felt like I was casting a vote for the unborn.`

At a polling station in downtown Washington, a line stretched around the block as black, white, Latino and Asian voters, some carrying young children, waited patiently to cast their ballots.

Alnett Wooten, 86, carried an American flag with her.

`I never thought I would live long enough to do it,` she said of voting for a black president. `I just pray that He will keep him safe.`

Also voting on Tuesday were two NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

Commander Edward Michael Fincke and Flight Engineer Greg Chamitoff voted by secure electronic ballot uplinked by NASA`s Johnson Space Center Mission Control Center to the orbiting space center, NASA said.

Voters leaving the polls were given a sticker saying `I voted,` making them eligible for numerous company `freebies` including a free coffee at Starbucks or a free scoop of ice cream at Ben & Jerry`s.