U.S. voters lined up at polling stations across the country on Tuesday in the finale of a neck-and-neck race for the helm of the world's sole superpower.

With the voting in full swing, both President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney are making last-minute efforts to encourage their supporters to cast ballots.

A focal point in this frenzied, last-ditch drive is Ohio, a Midwestern state that has chosen the winner of the last 12 presidential elections. No Republican candidate has ever secured the White House without winning it.

Vice President Joe Biden paid an unannounced visit to the Ohio city of Cleveland, where he and his family took photos and chatted with voters at a local restaurant.

At the time of Biden's arrival, Romney had already landed at the same airport and was waiting for his running mate, Paul Ryan, who flew in shortly later.

After their brief stopover at Cleveland, Romney and Ryan headed to Pennsylvania and Virginia, respectively, to continue their vote-soliciting efforts, while Biden left for Chicago, where Obama had already arrived.

In hometown Chicago, Obama took part in the final push aimed at toss-up states and visited a local field office. Among others, he phoned a music station in Florida in an outreach to African-American supporters.

Also, the president played his traditional Election Day basketball game, and his team, including NBA Hall of Famer and former Bulls player Scottie Pippen, won the match.

The Election Day crescendo culminates a bitter and expensive battle. Opinion polls showed Obama and Romney were basically in a tie, with the incumbent appearing to enjoy a slight advantage. Both have expressed confidence.

"We are confident we've got the votes to win, but it's going to depend ultimately on whether those votes turn out," said the president, while congratulating Romney on waging a "spirited campaign."

Obama's grandmother, Sarah Obama, has also voiced her confidence in Obama's reelection. Speaking in her Kenyan village of K'Ogello, she said Obama's "style of leadership skills which he has used to unite all the races in the U.S. is the reason why he is liked by many."

Greeted by hundreds of supporters at a Pennsylvania airport, a "visibly moved" Romney said "that's when you know you're gonna win," according to the website of The Washington Post.

Under the U.S. electoral system, the winner of the presidential election is not determined by the nationwide popular vote but by the outcome of state-by-state contests.

The winner of a state -- except Maine and Nebraska -- gets all the state's electoral votes, which are apportioned based on representation in Congress. The one who secures more than half of the 538 electoral votes wins the election.

However, the nip-and-tuck race has conjured up the specter of the 2000 election, when George W. Bush was declared winner only after a protracted recount in Florida and a Supreme Court decision.

Polling stations began to close at 6 p.m. EST (2300 GMT) in Indianan and Kentucky, while the voting is slated to all end at 0600 GMT Wednesday.

Besides the top post, voters are also voting to determine all the 435 seats in the House of Representatives, a third of the 100 Senate seats and 11 governorships.

U.S. media projected that Democrats are poised to retain the majority in the Senate while Republicans are likely to continue their control of the House.

Given the close race, whether the 51-year-old incumbent or the 65-year-old challenger wins the presidency, he will have a long way to go before he can break the partisan gridlock and bring forth a working Washington that has been widely called for. 

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