WASHINGTON - After voters in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, kicked off US presidential elections in a midnight voting session, daytime polls were open Tuesday before the first light across the East Coast to select the next president between incumbent Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

First daytime polls were opened in northeastern Vermont at 5 am eastern time (1000 GMT). Only several locations in the state open that early, while most open at 6 am (1100 GMT) Vermont is a safe Democratic state.

At 6 am, polls were opened in battleground states of Virginia, as well as a host of states across the East Coast, including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maine and the rest of New Hampshire and Vermont. Polls were also opened in Indiana and Kentucky.

About half an hour later, election sites were open in the all important battleground of Ohio at 6:30 am(1130 GMT), almost bringing to an end the intense competition for the state's 18 electoral votes. Romney will make a final stop during the day to Ohio to rally support.

The polls were slated to last the whole day across the United States, with the first results begin to come in after polls close at 7 p.m. (0000 GMT Wednesday) in Virginia, which has 13 electoral votes and is especially important to Romney. Other states' polls will close later.

However, a projection of the election results won't be expected before later in the night, as most battleground states may produce too-close-to-call results.

The last polls were to close 1 am Wednesday (0600 GMT) in Alaska, a safe Republican state.