Election Day, But Still Stumping

This isn't one of those presidential elections where the candidates, exhausted from campaigning, take a deep breath and huddle in seclusion with top aides and loved ones - waiting for results.

On Election Day today, neither Democratic candidate Sen. John Kerry nor GOP incumbent candidate President Bush plan a day of rest. Instead, they'll be visiting swing states, as will their running mates, in the final minutes before all the ballots have been cast in what is expected to be a very close election.

A CBS News poll released Tuesday showing Mr. Bush leading Kerry 49 to 47 percent among likely voters, well within the poll's statistical margin of error - a race way too close to call.

Poll hours vary by state, but in many states, the voting begins at 6 a.m. local time and in some states, continues as late as 11 p.m. local time.

Mr. Bush will vote at the firehouse near his ranch in Crawford, Texas, and will stop off in Columbus, Ohio, on his way back to the White House. Vice President Dick Cheney will vote in Wilson, Wyoming, and will make a lunchtime appearance in Waukesha, Wisconsin, before heading to D.C.

Kerry is already in Wisconsin - in La Crosse, where he was joined by running mate John Edwards Monday night. Kerry will do some handshaking in La Crosse - as Edwards makes tracks for Florida, stopping in Tampa and Orlando - and both will then head back to Boston to wait for the election results.

As they do, hordes of lawyers are lurking to represent each party's claims of fairness at the polls - and hordes of party volunteers are frantically working to convince as many people as possible to get out and vote.

Racing across the country Tuesday, Mr. Bush declared the "safety and prosperity of America" is at stake as Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry hit a similar theme, saying "the hopes of our country are on the line."

"Today is decision day," Kerry told cheering supporters at an airport hanger in Toledo, Ohio, early Tuesday morning. "You have an opportunity now, this day, to make fundamental change in America, and the hopes of our country are on the line."

Turnout is expected to be high in an election that has captured the interest of voters like no other in recent memory, with hot button issues ranging from the war in Iraq and the economy to health care, abortion and gay marriage.

"Today, for both parties, it's like you host a party and you get a nervous feeling. 'How many people are going to show up?' or 'Will anybody show up?'" he said. "We think a lot of people will show up."

A big turnout "probably means a Democratic advantage," Crawford said.

Edwards told the Early Show that turnout is "absolutely critical."

"That's why we've been urging people to early vote in states where early voting is permitted," he said, adding that he was confident Kerry-Edwards people would get to the polls in large numbers because, "Our voters are very motivated, passionate."

The nation's first votes cast and counted on Election Day, in the mountain hamlet of Hart's Location, New Hampshire, reflected in miniature what seemed likely to be writ large across the country: a horse race in votes, not just polls.

Following a quirky tradition of post-midnight voting in New Hampshire's North Country, 16 people voted for Mr. Bush, 14 for Kerry and one for Ralph Nader. Mr. Bush beat Democrat Al Gore 17-13 in the hamlet in 2000.

The prospect of unprecedented legal challenges hung over Election Day, each side on the alert to monitor a flood of newly registered voters and mount challenges against any sign of irregularity.

In an 11th hour blow for Democrats in battleground Ohio, an appeals court in Cincinnati stayed lower court decisions and cleared the way for vote challengers to be present at polling places in the state Tuesday.

The early Tuesday ruling was appealed immediately to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has not yet made a decision on the issue.

Mr. Bush gave what was billed as his last campaign speech at a noisy homecoming rally late Monday night that packed an overflow crowd of 8,000 into a basketball stadium in Dallas, a rare detour off the circuit of battleground states.

"The American president must lead with clarity and purpose," Mr. Bush said Monday. "As presidents from Lincoln to Roosevelt to Reagan so clearly demonstrated, a president must not shift with the wind."

His supporters hoped the venue was a lucky charm - it was the same stadium where he held his last rally in his governor's race 10 years ago, beginning an unbroken string of electoral success.

Kerry stopped in Toledo en route to Wisconsin for the rest of the night.

"Let's go make it happen," Kerry implored a crowd in Milwaukee.

Looking back on the race, first lady Laura Bush told the Early Show that she has "loved having the chance to campaign for my husband."

"This is our last campaign, no matter what happens tomorrow, and so that's made it sort of nostalgic for me, actually," she said.

Asked about her husband's chances of victory, Mrs. Bush said, "I feel good about it. I'm excited about it. It's been a long campaign, but it's also been a huge privilege to be able to be part of it."