Long lines greet record numbers

LONG lines and malfunctioning machines greeted voters across America yesterday as polls were deluged by people wanting to cast ballots in this historic race between Barack Obama and John McCain.

In the east, electronic machine glitches forced some New Jersey voters to cast paper ballots. In New York, anxious voters started lining up before dawn, prompting erroneous reports that some precincts weren’t opening on time.

“By 7.30 this morning, we had as many as we had at noon in 2004,” said poll worker John Ritch in Chappaqua, New York, where Bill and Hillary Clinton live.