Clintons Cast Their Votes

President Clinton said it was exciting to vote for his wife in the Democratic primary election that marks the first time any U.S. first lady's name has appeared on a ballot.

"After all these years of her helping me, it was a thrill," Clinton said early Tuesday upon emerging from a voting booth at Douglas Grafflin Elementary School in Chappaqua. "I loved it."

The president and Hillary Rodham Clinton, a candidate for U.S. Senate, voted at about 7:20 a.m. after signing autographs for onlookers.

One of the polling site workers, booth technician Andy Scheer, showed off a 1-foot-by-4-foot cardboard replica of the ballot that Hillary Clinton signed for him.

"How much do you think that's worth?" he asked.

The vote was President Clinton's first in New York. Hillary Clinton voted for Al Gore in the March presidential primary at the same polling site, about a mile from the home the Clinton's bought last fall. They said their daughter, Chelsea Clinton, voted in the primary by absentee ballot.

Hillary Clinton, who said only that it was "great" to vote for herself, is being challenged by Dr. Mark McMahon, a Manhattan orthopedic surgeon. McMahon has boasted that he expects a primary upset over the first lady, but polls show fewer than 15 percent of New York Democratic voters support him.

McMahon cast a vote for himself Tuesday morning at a Manhattan public school polling site.

"The Clintons have tried to hijack the Democratic Party," he said. "I have my ticket to Buffalo, and I expect to debate (Republican candidate Rep. Rick) Lazio tomorrow."

Lazio does not face a GOP primary challenge.