11:00 p.m. in Washington (0400 GMT): The networks simultaneously announce that Democrat Barack Obama has been elected the 44th president of the United States, defeating Republican John McCain and becoming the first African-American elected to the White House. (cl)

10:20 p.m. in Washington (0320 GMT): The networks call Mississippi with six electoral votes, Nebraska with five and South Dakota with three for McCain, giving him a total of 138. But Obama, with 207 electoral votes so far, only needs to win California and Colorado or Washington state to put him over the top and into the White House. The polls closed in Colorado at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time (0200 GMT) and voting ends in California and Washington state at 11:00 p.m. Eastern time (0400 GMT) (cl) 

10:05 p.m. in Chicago (0305 GMT): Obama left his house in his motorcade to return to the Hyatt Regency hotel, as TV projections of the state-by-state battle showed him closing in on the White House. (jit)

9:58 p.m. in Washington (0258 GMT): The networks call Iowa and its seven electoral votes for Obama, giving him 207 electoral votes and moving him closer to the magic number of 270. McCain picks up Texas and its 34 electoral votes and Utah with its five and now has 129 electoral votes. (cl) 

9:32 p.m. in Washington (0232 GMT): Obama moves a step closer to the presidency as the networks project a win for him in New Mexico, a state won by George W. Bush in 2004. New Mexico's five electoral votes give Obama a total of 200 and leave McCain with an increasingly difficult path to victory. (cl)  

9:25 p.m. in Washington (0225 GMT): In a major blow to McCain's flagging White House hopes, the networks called Ohio and its 20 electoral votes for Obama, giving him a total of 195 electoral votes with solidly Democratic California and its 55 electoral votes still to come. McCain picked up Louisiana and its nine electoral votes giving him a total of 90.

9:00 p.m. in Washington (0200 GMT): The television networks called a slew of new states as the polls began to close across the country. Obama picked up Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin while McCain won in Kansas, North Dakota and Wyoming. Obama currently has 175 electoral votes -- less than 100 from the target of 270 -- while McCain has 81.

8:40 p.m. in Washington (0140 GMT): The television networks call the southern states of Alabama, Arkansas and Georgia for McCain, giving him a total of eight states and 69 electoral votes. Obama has so far picked up 11 states with a total of 103 electoral votes, including Pennsylvania. 

8:35 p.m. in Chicago (0135 GMT): Following his basketball game, Obama met top aides and watched early returns at the Hyatt Regency hotel before returning to his Hyde Park home for some "quiet time" with his wife and two daughters, chief strategist David Axelrod said. Asked about Obama's mood after TV networks called the pivotal state of Pennsylvania for the Democrat, Axelrod told CNN: "We've waited two years. We can wait a couple of more hours to draw conclusions."

8:25 p.m. in Washington (0125 GMT): The Democratic Party was on track to win a majority in the Senate having picked up at least three seats from Republicans in the 100-member legislative body. With several races still undecided, Democrats had won Senate elections in Virginia, New Hampshire and North Carolina. That would give Democrats 52 seats, up from their current 49. In Virginia, Mark Warner filled a seat being vacated by veteran Republican Senator John Warner (no relation). In New Hampshire, Democrat Jeanne Shaheen unseated Republican John Sununu while in North Carolina, Democrat Kay Hagan was projected to beat Republican Elizabeth Dole.

8:22 p.m. in Washington (0122 GMT): White House press secretary Dana Perino says President Bush held a birthday dinner for Laura Bush (she's 62 today) with family and senior aides in attendance. "The president gave a toast at the start of the dinner thanking those present for all teh work they've done and for their friendship. He ended by saying, 'And may God bless whoever wins tonight,'" she told reporters by email. Her full statement does not mention Obama or McCain by name. But it does reveal that the dessert was coconut cake. (ok) 

8:05 p.m. in Washington (0105 GMT): The networks call Massachusetts, Illinois, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maine, Delaware, Maryland and the District of Columbia for Obama while Oklahoma and Tennessee are projected to go to McCain. (cl) 

8:00 p.m. in Washington (0100 GMT): With the polls closing across most of the East Coast, the networks give the major prize of Pennsylvania and its 21 electoral votes to Obama. (cl)

7:55 p.m. in Washington (0055 GMT): The networks give South Carolina, a state which went to George W. Bush in the past two electinos, and its eight electoral votes to McCain. (cl)

6:47 p.m. in Chicago (0047 GMT): Thousands of people are pouring in to Chicago's Grant Park for Obama's election night party, the first through sprinting to the front to get a ringside seat for what they hope will be a historic night. (jit)

7:38 p.m. in Washington (0038 GMT): The White House press office door is shut and locked incredulous journalists here are discussing ace CNN reporter Jessica Yellin's appearance on their election anchor show - by hologram. Those of us from a certain generation are reciting the Princess Leia hologram appeal  from Star Wars by heart ('Help me, Obi-wan Kenobi. You're my only hope'). (ok).

7:30 p.m. in Washington (0030 GMT): The networks have called West Virginia and its five electoral votes for McCain, as expected, while saying that the critical states of Virginia, North Carolina, and Ohio, are too close to call (cl).

7:00 p.m. in Washington (0000 GMT): The US television networks are making their first calls in the presidential race with traditionally Republican Kentucky (which has eight votes in the electoral college), going to McCain and liberal Vermont (which has three) going to Obama. The midwestern state of Indiana, crucial to McCain's electoral hopes, was said to be too close to call. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes for victory. (cl)

5:55 p.m. in Chicago (2355 GMT): Am setting up in the enormous press area in the enormous Grant Park preparatory to Obama's enormous election night party. The Democrat does not go in for half-measures. It's a balmy evening that feels more like early summer than close to winter. Chicagoans say they've never seen it so warm for this time of year. Is the 'Messiah' as one McCain ad mockingly called him, benefiting from intervention on high? He's certainly hit meteorological gold whenever he's held a set-piece event outdoors this year. Doors open the public in just over two hours. (jit)

6:54 p.m. in Washington (2354 GMT): In an early sign of a possible bad night for Republicans MSNBC quotes a senior Republican strategist as predicting that Elizabeth Dole looks set to lose her North Carolina Senate race. (col)

5:40 p.m. in Chicago (2340 GMT): Obama has arrived at the Hyatt Regency to watch returns come in, after playing basketball with friends. (jit)

6:00 p.m. in Washington (2300 GMT): The first polls have closed - in parts of Indiana and Kentucky - and the countdown has begun. According to CNN, exit polls showed that the economy was the top priority, being named by 62 percent of voters, compared to Iraq with 10 percent, terrorism on nine percent and healthcare on nine percent. (cl)

4:30 p.m. in Washington (2130 GMT): Back at work after a brief furlough to go vote. There was a long line at my polling place, a Catholic church, when I tried to vote this morning. It was virtually empty in mid-afternoon but an election judge said turnout by 3:00 p.m. had already surpassed the total number of voters at the precinct in the 2004 presidential election. Parlayed my "I voted" sticker into a free coffee at Starbucks. Too bad there's no Ben & Jerry's near the office. They're offering free scoops of ice cream to voters. (cl)  

2:45 p.m. in Chicago (2045 GMT): Obama pulls up at a gym on Chicago's West Side for his 'traditional' election day game of pickup basketball. The tradition was forged in January when the democratic hopeful played bask etball while waiting for voters to decide his fate in Iowa. He went on to win the state's fabled caucases. (col)

1:10 p.m. in Grand Junction, Colorado (2010 GMT): McCain slammed home his favorite theme of never-say-die patriotism as he took his long-shot bid into an unusual Election Day string of rallies in states near his Arizona home. "I'm an American. And I choose to fight. Don't give up hope. Be strong. Have courage. And fight," he told supporters in neighboring Colorado. (dm)

2:48 p.m. in Washington (1948 GMT):  "W" may be one of the most popular films in US theaters these days, but the inspiration for Oliver Stone's movie was invisible to the public as his compatriots went to the polls to elect his successor. President George W. Bush was spending the day quietly at home in the White House, and had no public appearance planned whatever the election outcome, his spokeswoman said. (dm)

12:12 p.m. in Chicago (1812 GMT): Just passed Joe Biden's motorcade on the Midway apron waiting for the imminent arrival of the Democratic running mate for tonight's election party. Obama's VP nominee has been on a final stump through Virginia. (jit)

11:03 a.m. in Phoenix Arizona. (1803 GMT): John McCain is at the airport and poses for a quick photo with press corps and staff before climbing the steps and boarding Straight Talk Air. Unusually, he is campaigning today, in Colorado and New Mexico. Because after seven states and 3700 miles in 20 hours on Monday, we clearly haven't spent enough time on the road recently... (rcw)

1:00 p.m. on Earth (1800 GMT): Many absentee ballots for the US presidential election have been filed from around the world but it's not only the Earth-bound who are voting on Tuesday. Two NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station are also taking part in the election. Commander Edward Fincke and Flight Engineer and Science Officer Greg Chamitoff are voting in Texas by secure electronic ballot up-linked by NASA's Johnson Space Center Mission Control Center to the orbiting space center. The crew members fill in the ballot which is then down-linked and delivered by email to the County Clerk's Office. "We do a lot of things to try to support their stay on the space station," said Nicole Cloutier, a spokeswoman for the Johnson Space Center. "We certainly don't want to deny them their privilege to vote in this election." Fincke urged his fellow Americans to get out and vote. "If we can do it, so can you," he said. (cl)

11:55 a.m. in Chicago (1755 GMT): Landed at Midway airport. It's the end of our love-hate relationship with the blue-coated Boeing 757 that has flown Obama (in comfort) and us (in the cheap seats) all across America and beyond. No more boxed meals at every hour. No more getting tangled in laptop cords and anxious negotiations with seat-mates over who needs the in-flight power the most. No more smackdown landings on short runways at out-of-the-way airports. No more mid-air incidents (including a near miss with another jet taking off from Cleveland on Sunday). No more horrifying invoices from the charter company detailing just how much this adventure is costing us. The plane's off for a refit and paint job, and we're off to a long day-night of electoral drama. (jit)

9:37 a.m. in Wasila, Alaska (1737 GMT): Palin, somewhat oddly, also declined to reveal whom she voted for. "I am also exercising my right to privilege, see, and I don't have to tell anybody who I vote for," Palin told reporters after voting at Wasilla city hall with her husband, Todd. "Nobody does. That's really cool about America." She did provide a strong hint, however. "Tomorrow, I hope, I believe that I will be able to wake up as vice president-elect," the Alaska governor added. (cl)

11:45 a.m. in Indianapolis (1645 GMT): Obama, back from greeting union staff and volunteers in Indianapolis, posed for a group photo with the press corps in front of his plane. "Everybody say tequila!" he exclaimed, before we boarded for our very last flight on O Force One back to Chicago. At the stop in the UAW's Indianapolis office, he made several phone calls to undecided voters and said the race was going to be tight. "The question is, who wants it more?" he told about 30 union activists gathered in the office. (jit)

11:25 a.m. in Columbus, Ohio (1625 GMT): Many polling gurus think Ohio could be ground zero in this election and McCain lavished attention on the state's white working class voters. Bob Ceckitti, a retired homicide detective and Vietnam vet, wasn't impressed. "Senator Obama has concentrated his efforts on explaining his agenda for turning America around and the Republicans have concentrated their efforts on trying to discredit Senator Obama," he said after voting. (dm)

9:24 a.m. in Phoenix, Arizona (1624 GMT): McCain has voted. We know this because he is wearing a sticker which reads "I voted today" on his right lapel. He smiled and signed autographs but did not comment to a scrum of media. "Mr McCain, have you lost the election?" a British reporter asks. No reply. (rcw)

7.20 a.m. in Wasilla, Alaska (1620 GMT): "I hope, I pray, I believe I'll be able to wake up as vice president-elect," McCain running mate Sarah Palin declared to the press after voting in her small home town. "I'm so anxious to get to work for the American people," said Palin alongside husband Todd outside the Wasilla city hall where her political career began. (dm)

9:14 a.m. in Phoenix, Arizona (1614): McCain left home en route to casting his vote in Phoenix. He has arrived at the polling center. (rcw)

8:39 a.m. in Prescott, Arizona (1539 GMT): We're waiting outside John McCain's apartment, rubbing sleep out of our eyes after yesterday's marathon trip. We can see a man with snowy white hair standing on the balcony of an upper condo. We think it's McCain. No, we know it is. The photographers' long lenses have caught him sipping a large Starbucks coffee before casting his vote. (rcw)

10:08 a.m. in Washington (1508 GMT): If he got time to check the NFL football scores this morning, Barack Obama would have been a happy man. According to urban legend, if the Washington Redskins lose their last home game before the election, the incumbent political party also crashes to defeat. Last night, the Redskins tumbled 23-6 to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 'Redskins Rule' has worked out in every election since 1937, with a caveat in 2004. (col)

8:55 a.m. in Chicago (1455 GMT): Obama on the airport tarmac, heading for one last campaign stop in Indiana: "I feel great," he said, adding how happy he was to vote with his wife and daughters. Asked if he was feeling sentimental, he said: I am sure I will tonight. That's when the polls close and the journey ends." (jit)

8:49 a.m. in Chicago (1449 GMT): The presidential vote cast already by Democrat Barack Obama's grandmother Madelyn Dunham will count, campaign officials revealed, despite her dying just hours before election day. "Onece you cast an absentee ballot, it counts," Linda Douglass said. (jit)

7:45 a.m. in Chicago (1345 GMT): Obama is casting the most momentous vote of his life in a polling station in his hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. Looking relaxed and chatting with his 10-year-old daughter Malia, Obama spent several minutes filling in a paper ballot that included not just his race against Republican rival John McCain but also state and local electoral contests. His wife, Michelle, voted in the adjacent booth while their littlest daughter, 7-year-old Sasha, looks on. (dm)

8:40 a.m. in Washington (13:40 GMT): It's before dawn, and the parking lot at Tilden Middle School in the Rockville suburb of Washington is filling up with cars as commuters come to vote. A couple of hundred people are lined up down one of Tilden's main hallways, under posters for candidates in the school's student council elections, chatting in low tones, some clutching coffee cups and others leafing through newspapers 30 minutes before the polls formally open, still others poring over the sample ballots handed out by cheerful election workers. A not-quite-three-year-old boy points to a photo in a display case and (correctly) shouts out: "Look, Papa, Barack Obama!" then shrugs at the other candidates. At 7 am, the voting begins. I give my name and address and birthday ("Month and day, please, not year") to the poll worker, sign a card certifying that I've been truthful, and get a little magnetric card. I'm escorted to one of the touch-screen machines, and slide in my card. My first choice: English? Enlarged text? Heightened screen contrast? I go with English. The machine pauses a bit, then brings up the presidential candidates, each ticket with a little box next to it. I vote, and the screen highlights my choice. Then I have to pick through races like the House of Representatives, local judges, and ballot initiatives (including one to allow slot machines in Maryland). At the end, the machine offers me a chance to review and change my vote. I'm done at 7:20. The line has grown much, much longer, snaking down and back along the hallway, but no-one is turning away in disgust, and everyone seems cheerful even though the most recent arrivals probably face at least 45 minutes of waiting. Outside, a campaign worker is just setting up her table of stickers and voters guides, obviously stunned by the early turnout: "This is the most turnout I've seen here." I get a little "I voted / Yo voté" sticker -- which earns me a free coffee at the Starbucks near the AFP mothership in downtown DC. (OK)

7:00 a.m. in Chicago (1300 GMT): It's a beautiful morning in the Windy City. We're about to board for our final flight on "O Force One" to one last campaign stop with Obama in Indianapolis, Indiana. The candidate is expected to vote in his Hyde Park neighbourhood soon, before joining the rest of the press corps for his meet-and-greet stop with voters in a state that hasn't voted for a Democratic presidential hopeful since 1964. (jit)

7:36 a.m. in Washington (1236 GMT): Reporters phoning in confirm long queues have formed already in many areas. In States including tightly-contested Virginia, in neighboring Maryland, here in Cleveland, Ohio, and in New York, they formed before the polling stations open. Predictions have the turnout heading for a record. (col)

5:00 a.m. in Washington (1000 GMT): Now things really get underway. Hardy Vermonters began the real business of Election day in the pre-dawn by casting ballots in the college town's fire stations-turned-polling-stations. A raft of other eastern states join in at 6:00, others at 7:00 and by 10:00 everyone in the 'lower 48' will be in the action. (dm)

4:47 a.m. in Hart's Location, New Hampshire (0947 GMT): Bucking tradition, and maybe even signalling a trend, residents here also backed Obama by 17 votes to 10 for McCain, with another two write-ins for libertarian member of Congress Ron Paul. The day should be interesting. (dm)

01:41 a.m. in Chicago (0741 GMT): We've just got back to Chicago after the closing rally of Obama's campaign. En route, Obama made a rare foray to the press section of his campaign plane to thank us for expressions of condolences over the passing of his grandmother Madelyn Dunham, and for accompanying him on his gruelling 21-month run. "It's been a good long ride with all of you. Whatever happens tomorrow, it's going to be extraordinary," he said. (jit)

12:54 a.m. in Chicago (0654 GMT): Confusion reigns over the setup for reporters in Obama's press filing center at tonight's Election Night rally. Despite having paid $975 for a seat, some reporters showed up last night to find they didn't have one. And rumors spread that reporters would not be allowed out into the crowds during the rally. (mso)

12:30 a.m. in Hart's Location, New Hampshire (0530 GMT): Presidential results from Dixville Notch, reported by CNN, showed an upset victory for Democrat Barack Obama, with 15 votes compared to 6 for Republican John McCain. According to CNN, it was the first time in 40 years that Dixville Notch residents favored a Democrat. (dm)

Midnight in Hart's Location, New Hampshire (0500 GMT): They're off! Sort of... By long tradition, several dozen residents of this tiny rural community and nearby Dixville Notch kicked off election day 2008 by casting their ballots at midnight. The rest of the country will start voting five hours from now in a marathon that will run another 19 hours across 50 states and six time zones, ending with the election of the 44th US president. (dm)

AFP editors and reporters covering the historic US election on Tuesday will be live-blogging throughout the day and into the night as the voting unfolds - posting on highlights and eventual problems at polling stations, the travails of covering the event.

We will kick off the effort when residents of Hart's Location and Dixville Notch, two villages in rural New Hampshire, cast the first ballots of election day at midnight (0500 GMT) Tuesday, then get down to serious work when the rest of the polling stations open from 5:00 am (1000 GMT).

Contributors:
- Jitendra Joshi with the Obama campaign (jit)
- Rob Woollard with the McCain campaign (rcw)
- Steve Collinson, chief political correspondent, in Washington (col)
- Mira Oberman in Chicago (mso)
- Olivier Knox, White House correspondent, in Washington (OK)
- Chris Lefkow, high-tech editor, in Washington (cl)
- David Millikin, chief editor, in Washington (dm)