Tight US Election Now in Voters' Hands

http://www.voanews.com

There were long lines at polling places across the United States as Americans vote on whether to re-elect President Barack Obama or to select Republican challenger Mitt Romney as their new leader. Sporadic problems were reported. Both candidates have legions of lawyers monitoring the voting for any irregularities. The U.S. Department of Justice has dispatched nearly 800 observers to polling places in 23 states to respond to any allegations of fraud. The outcome of the election is uncertain.Nationwide surveys show the two candidates in a virtual deadlock. However, the surveys do give Obama a slight edge in a handful of key battleground states which will likely determine the outcome of the election. U.S. presidential election campaigns are not decided by the national popular vote, but rather by a two-century-old electoral college system in which each of the 50 states' influence on the outcome is roughly equivalent to its population. Each candidate needs at least 270 of the available 538 electoral votes to win the election.