Polls close in swing state Virginia, 5 others

Voters check in to cast their ballots for the US presidential elections at a polling place in the Richmond Public Library in Richmond, Virginia, Nov 6, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]

WASHINGTON - Polls of US presidential elections closed at 7 pm eastern time Tuesday (0000 GMT Wednesday) in the critical swing state of Virginia, as American voters end a voting day to choose the next president between the incumbent Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

Except Virginia, polls also closed at 7 pm in Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina and Vermont, to be followed by the all-important Ohio at 7:30 pm (0030 GMT Wednesday).

US TV networks already projected Obama to win the "deep blue" Vermont, giving him three electoral votes. Romney is projected to win the "deep red" Kentucky and Indiana, giving him 19 electoral votes. Virginia remains too close to call, as exit polls showed a neck and neck race in the state.A candidate needs to win 270 of the total 538 electoral votes to win the presidency.

The Election Day began with midnight voting in a pair of small towns in New Hampshire, and expanded across the nation after 5 am. Voters lined up from New York to Florida to cast their ballots.

Although figures haven't come in, US media outlets are reporting heavy turnout in the election. Early exit polls showed 73 percent of voters were white, 13 percent were African American, 10 percent Latino and 3 percent Asian.

According exit poll results released by CNN, 6 in 10 voters say economy is the top issue facing the nation, with healthcare and deficit running distant second and third.