Los Angeles voter Ted Cohen says he was glad to see the crowds at his polling place, the gymnasium of a local community center.
"Thisis the biggest turnout I've seen in any presidential election that I'vehad the privilege of voting in," he said.
"So whatever side of thefence you're on, it's nice to see that people are getting back andvoting and at least casting their opinion on what they want to seehappen in our country. I think that's promising. People are gettinginvolved again," he added.
Cohen's mother, Ruth, is an immigrant fromIsrael who was also surprised by the long lines to vote. "I've neverseen it like this," she said. "Since I've been voting here for 38years, I've never seen it like this. I waited an hour."
She says voting usually takes only a few minutes.
Electionmonitors from both major parties - the Democrats and the Republicans - are watching for snags in the process across the country. So arenon-partisan groups like Election Protection, which reports incidentsof malfunctioning voting machines in Virginia, Pennsylvania andFlorida, where poll workers are coping with heavy turnout.
A lawyer named Samantha took a half day off from work to volunteer with the organization in Los Angeles.
"Ithink this is a really important election," she said. "I knew thatthere would be a lot of voters out today, and it's a logisticalnightmare in way, and I figured if I could use what legal training Ihave to support the system and be a part of helping the process gosmoothly today, I was happy to do it."
She says she visited six polling places and found no problems, except for long lines.
Votersacross the United States are making their choices for president,members of congress, and state and local officials. And many also arevoting on state and local issues.
California voters, forexample, are deciding whether to ban homosexual marriage. They alsoare determining several tax questions, public transit proposals, and ameasure to promote alternative energy.
Voter Hazel Johnson saysissues like these, as well as the race for president, brought her outto vote. "Every election is important to me," she said. "There's alwayssomething on the ballot that really needs my input."
Twenty three-year-oldGregory Derevianko, a graduate student in atmospheric science at theUniversity of California, Los Angeles, voted Tuesday for the secondtime in a presidential election. He says casting his ballot wasimportant. "It's something I enjoy doing, and I feel proud to be ableto do it," said Derevianko.
The biggest U.S. voter turnout wasin 2004, when more than 120 million Americans cast their ballots. Thatrecord is expected to be broken in this election.