Stark choice as voters head to the polls

US President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney have closed out their hard-fought battle for the White House, yielding centre stage to voters who face a stark choice on election day between fundamentally different visions for the country’s future.

After months of campaigning and billions of dollars spent in the battle for leadership of the world’s most powerful country, Mr Obama and Mr Romney were in a virtual nationwide tie ahead of the election, a sign of the vast partisan divide separating Americans in the early years of the 21st century.