Democrat Sen. Barack Obama came up a big winner in the presidential race in Dixville Notch, N.H., where the nation's first Election Day votes were cast and counted early Tuesday.

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Obama defeated John McCain 15-6. Independent Ralph Nader was also on the ballot, but received no votes.

The first voter, following tradition established in 1948, was picked ahead of the midnight voting and the rest of the town's registered voters followed suit in Tuesday's first minutes.

Town Clerk Rick Erwin said the northern New Hampshire town is proud of its tradition, but said the most important thing is that the turnout represents 100 percent vote.

President George W. Bush won the vote in Dixville Notch in 2004 on the way to his re-election -- this election signals the first Democratic win since 1968.

Calls For Early Voting Pay Off For Obama

In key battleground states, the push for voters to cast ballots early appears to be paying dividends for Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama.

With many expressing hopes of avoid long lines on Election Day, about a third of the American voters have already gone to the polls and Democrats have cast many more votes than Republicans, even in states where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats.

In Colorado, which President George W. Bush carried twice, nearly half of the state's registered voters showed up early. Democrats outnumbered Republicans by more than 27,000. The party is now urging Obama supporters to spend Election Day persuading undecided voters.

In Florida, more than 4.2 million people have voted despite waiting times of more than five hours in some places. Again, Democrats outnumbered GOP loyalists, this time by about 300,000.

And in North Carolina, the pre-Election Day turnout topped 40 percent, with nearly twice as many Democrats showing up.

Polls Favor Obama Going Into Election Day

Obama, comfortably ahead in national polls, got a later start with a rally in Jacksonville at midday and a swing through longtime GOP bastions that might go to his Democratic Party this time.

National polls suggested Obama's lead widening overall as the candidates moved to the final stages of the race, with the Democrat leading in Pennsylvania and other states McCain must win to have a chance of capturing the presidency.

A USA Today/Gallup poll published Monday found likely voters favoring Obama by 11 points over McCain, 53-42 percent. The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC poll gave Obama a 51-43 percent lead, and Gallup has the Obama margin at 55-44 percent.

Polls show the six closest states are Florida, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada and Ohio. The campaigns also are running aggressive ground games elsewhere, including Iowa, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Colorado and Virginia.

In the battleground state of Ohio, a group of polls suggested good news for Obama. The University of Cincinnati's poll puts the race at 51.5 percent for Obama, 45.7 percent for McCain. Quinnipiac University has Obama leading McCain 50-43 percent. Public Policy Polling puts it at 50-48 percent, or too close to call.

Obama 'Pretty Peaceful'

"I feel pretty peaceful," Obama said on the "Russ Parr Morning Show."

"The question is going to be who wants it more," he added. "And I hope that our supporters want it bad, because I think the country needs it."

It has been the longest and most expensive presidential contest ever -- featuring for the first time an African-American as a major party standard-bearer.

Asked in an interview broadcast Monday morning what most displeased him about the nearly two-year-long contest, Obama cited attacks launched by Republicans against his wife, Michelle.

"There's a Republican or right wing media outlet ... that went after my wife for awhile in a way that I thought was just completely out of bounds," Obama said on CBS's "The Early Show."

"I would have never considered or expected my allies to do something comparable to the spouse of an opponent," he added. "They support their spouse, but generally they really should be bystanders in this process, even if they're campaigning for me. ... I mean that's what you'd expect. And that doesn't make them suddenly targets."

All that's left now is for the campaigns to make sure people vote, unleashing an unprecedented get-out-the-vote campaigns.

Surrogates for both men, including Democrat Caroline Kennedy and one-time Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, hopped from morning show to morning show urging voters to get to the polls if they haven't already cast ballots. More early voting is happening than ever, a process that changes the meaning of Election Day somewhat, with some 27 million votes cast in 30 states as of Saturday night. That's more than ever. Democrats outnumbered Republicans in pre-Election Day voting in key states.

While in some previous elections the incumbent president has served as surrogate-in-chief, Bush is so unpopular that he hasn't been seen in public, except for climbing on and off helicopters, since a Thursday speech at the FBI Academy. And that won't change until after Election Day. White House press secretary Dana Perino said the incumbent's invisibility is by design - because "the Republican Party wanted to make this election about John McCain" - and even understandable.

"We're realistic about the political environment that we are in," Perino said. "I'm not saying that he doesn't recognize that there are people out there who want change, they've been looking for something new. ... What keeps him going is knowing that he's done the right thing."

Race Was Costly

All told, the election will have cost $1 billion, and the candidates together will have spent about $8 per presidential vote.

The candidates were sprinting across time zones and states in 11th-hour bids to get to the magic number of 270 electoral votes -- the total needed to seal the presidency.

McCain's journey stretched from Tampa through Tennessee, whose media market reaches into the much-coveted state of Virginia, which is trending Democratic for the first time since 1964.

McCain also was scheduled to hit Pennsylvania, Indiana, New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada before ending early Tuesday with a rally in Prescott, Ariz. He was scheduled to finish the day at home in the Phoenix area.

Obama was in Florida, Virginia and North Carolina Monday.

Both presidential candidates were campaigning part of Tuesday, Election Day. Obama was set to make a quick trip to Indiana before returning to Chicago for a massive rally in Grant Park. McCain planned to attend a rally in Grand Junction, Colo., and visit a volunteer headquarters in Albuquerque, N.M., before returning to Arizona to watch election returns.

McCain's running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, was racing through five Bush states Monday -- Ohio, Missouri, Iowa, Colorado and Nevada -- in an effort to boost conservative turnout. The Alaska governor has been a popular draw for many GOP base voters.

Sen. Joe Biden, Obama's running mate, was to campaign in Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Polls show the six closest states are Florida, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada and Ohio. The campaigns also are running aggressive ground games elsewhere, including Iowa, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Colorado and Virginia.

Obama exuded confidence Sunday at events in three cities in the bellwether state of Ohio, which voted for Bush in 2000 and 2004 but is trending Democratic this year as it struggles against an anemic economy.

"We cannot afford to slow down or sit back or let up," Obama told voters at an evening rally in Cincinnati. "We need to win an election on Tuesday."

In New Hampshire, McCain held his last town hall meeting of the 2008 campaign - something of an exercise in nostalgia, as he conducted dozens of such freewheeling affairs in the months leading up to his victory in that state's primary.

McCain took voter questions on issues such as illegal immigration and paying for college while thanking New Hampshire for rescuing his campaign in 2008 and in the 2000 Republican primary, when he briefly upended Bush.

"I come to the people of New Hampshire to ask them to let me go on one more mission," McCain said in Peterborough, where he was introduced by Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling.