Washington: After midnight the US Presidential election officially opened in New Hampshire as dozens of voters cast their traditional votes in two tiny towns.

Voting began in Dixville Notch and New Hampshire, the two tiny hamlets at the stroke of midnight where the residents exercised their franchise in what could turn out to be the tightest run for the most powerful position in USA.

Elsewhere, Americans were beginning to cast votes Tuesday as Election Day 2004 got under way in many Eastern states.

A report from a polling station in a Washington suburb said nearly 100 people were waiting in line as voting began at 6 AM Eastern Time.

Around 156 million Americans are eligible to vote in one of the tightest presidential election in recent history. Although voter turnout is unpredictable, analysts believe it will be markedly higher than the 106 million in 2000.

Under the US electoral system, however, it is the candidate who wins at least 270 out of 538 Electoral College votes who wins the election -- in 2000 Bush won the Electoral College vote despite losing the popular vote by more than half a million votes to then vice president Al Gore.

Polling stations opened in nine eastern states: Virginia, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maine, Vermont, New York, Indiana and Kentucky.

The first polling stations close at 7:00 PM Eastern Time (0531 IST) in Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia. The last polling stations close in Alaska at 1130 IST tomorrow (Nov 4, 2004).

Opinion polls show the race in a virtual dead heat. Five surveys gave Bush a statistically insignificant lead of one or two points while Fox News showed Kerry leading by two points and the American Research Group had a 48-48 per cent tie.