As voters choose between President Bush and Sen. John Kerry, NPR offers complete coverage of the presidential race, with news and analysis of the election returns.

The Election Day special also includes running tallies of contests for Senate and House seats around the nation, as the Democratic and Republican parties seek to gain legislative control.

As expected, complaints of voting irregularities have been registered in several states, and challenges to voter registrations are pending. While many polling places reported long lines of voters, Election Day went more smoothly than expected in states such as Florida, which began accepting early votes two weeks ago.

Political analysts say the final tally in Florida and other battleground states -- Ohio, Wisconsin and New Mexico, among them -- could go a long way in determining whether President Bush or Sen. John Kerry will lead the nation in 2005. NPR's Linda Wertheimer and NPR's Robert Siegel discuss early indications and voting trends in the 2004 elections with Pew Research Center director Andrew Kohut.

The president and Sen. Kerry both made final campaign trips to swing states and cast their own ballots in Crawford, Texas, and Boston Mass., respectively. President Bush visited Columbus, Ohio, and will attend an election-night party in Washington, D.C. Sen. Kerry courted Wisconsin voters before returning to Boston, where he will watch the results.

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