Election day has arrived and, unsurprisingly, none of the US papers are prepared to nail their colours to the mast and predict a winner. The Washington Post reports that both sides are "braced for all election eventualities" and mentions that even foreign observers will be descending on polling stations "in what promises to be the most heavily monitored presidential election in US history".
Adam Jay
The New York Times concentrates also on observers, leading on the Ohio federal appeals court ruling early today allowing Republicans to place thousands of people inside polling stations to challenge voters' eligibility.
In Ohio, the Cincinnati Post describes a visit by Mr Bush on Sunday to the Great American Ball Park. Since it was Halloween, "the Ghostbusters theme song and Monster Mash played" just before the president's arrival, but "for some, the rally trumped Halloween" itself.
On the other side of the continent, the Los Angeles Times leads on the Ohio court ruling but, LA being mediaville, there is space for another story about election advertising. Over the year, the paper writes, viewers in battleground states had been barraged with more than 675,000 showings of political commercials. In total, the Kerry camp has spent more than $357m (£194m) on ads since his campaign began in March, while Bush and his allies have spent around $229m.
The Miami Herald indulges in a touch of vanity, writing that the "nation's eye is on Florida". The nation's other eye may well be on the candidates, so it is just as well that "on this most gruelling day, the incumbent 'feels great'." And with one-fifth of registered voters in the state having already voted, the paper even believes there is a chance that "today's election will run smoothly".
USA Today provides election-stressed Americans with a handy Q&A on how to vote. "Where do I go to vote?" is one of the questions it helpfully answers. "Just follow the legions of lawyers, foreign observers and thousands of Republican supporters itching to check your credentials" is not the answer, by the way.
Adam Jay
