[Stay with Patch as we update this article with news and information from the polls and live election results as they come in.]

LIVE 2012 ELECTION RESULTS*

* With more than 60 percent of precincts reporting

1:45 a.m.: The Associated Press has declared Democrat Carol Shea-Porter the winner over Republican Frank Guinta in the 1st District Congressional race.

11:59 p.m.: Democrat Annie Kuster has been declared the winner over Republican Charles Bass in the 2nd District Congressional race.

11:39 p.m.: Barack Obama has been re-elected president, according to NBC News.

9:55 p.m.: CBS News and NBC have called New Hampshire for President Obama.

9:44 p.m.: Romney has taken Amherst, by a total of 3,906 to 3,501.

9:33 p.m.: Meanwhile, Obama appears to have won in Concord, with just one ward still left to report.

9:25 p.m.: The Associated Press has declared Democrat Maggie Hassan the winner over Republican Ovide Lamontagne in the race for New Hampshire governor.

Meanwhile, the latest numbers from Boston.com in the presidential race have Obama leading Romney 56-43 percent with 16 percent of precincts reporting.

WMUR has Frank Guinta leading Carol Shea-Porter 50-46 percent in CD-1 with 14 percent of precincts reporting, and Kuster leading Bass 57-39 percent in CD-2 with 20 percent reporting.

8:50 p.m.: WMUR is reporting that Obama leads Romney in New Hampshire 62-37 percent with 8 percent of precincts reporting. In the governor's race, Democrat Maggie Hassan is up on Republican Ovide Lamontagne 64-34 percent with 8 percent reporting.

In the 1st Congressional District, Republican Frank Guinta leads Democrat Carol Shea-Porter 50-45 percent with 4 percent of precincts reporting, and in the 2nd District, Democrat Annie Kuster leads Republican Charles Bass 62-34 percent with 10 percent of precincts reporting.

8:34 p.m.: With 5 percent of precincts reporting, CNN says Obama is leading Romney 63 percent to 35 percent in New Hampshire.

Meanwhile, in the town of Newfields, Romney beat Obama 564 to 521.

7:57 p.m.: In Concord's Ward 10, the city's most conservative ward, Obama 1,575-Romney 1,161; Hassan 1,679-Ovide 1,013.

Very few people at the election night parties in Manchester for the Obama and Romney campaigns so far. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen has been spotted at the Obama party, while a space has been reserved outside the Romney event for Sen. Kelly Ayotte.

7:50 p.m.: In Concord's Ward 8, Obama less than 2-to-1; Kuster too, Hassan 2-to-1. For full results of the four Concord wards reporting so far, click here.

7:44 p.m.: In Concord's Ward 7, Obama won by a 2-to-1 margin, Hassan 2.5-to-1, Kuster less than 2-to-1.

Also, Kevin Landrigan of the Telegraph just tweeted that Romney beat Obama in Seabrook. Meanwhile, he says Hassan won in Seabrook and Belmont.

7:32 p.m.: In Concord's Ward 6, Obama wins 2.5-to-1, Hassan too; Kuster 2-to-1.

The Nashua Telegraph's Kevin Landrigan is also reporting that Milton, traditionally a GOP town, voted for Obama, 1104 to 1024, and Hassan, 1182 to 995.

7:30 p.m.: The polls are closed in Merrimack as of 7:27 p.m. to anyone who is not already in the building and in line to register or check in, according to Merrimack Patch Editor Carolyn Dube.

7:20 p.m.: The Merrimack polls are staying open beyond 7 p.m. due to traffic problems caused by several accidents that kept people from being able to get to the high school in time. Meanwhile, despite long lines, the Salem polls are closing at 7 p.m., though anyone who was in line at that time will be allowed to vote.

Meanwhile, some early results are beginning to pour in. In Concord's Ward 5, Concord Patch Editor Tony Schinella reports that Barack Obama beat Mitt Romney nearly 2-to-1; Democrat Maggie Hassan beat Republican Ovide Lamontagne by a 2.5-to-1 margin in the governor's race, and Annie Kuster beat Charles Bass by slightly less than a 2-to-1 margin in the 2nd District Congressional contest.

6:50 p.m.: Merrimack Police, in an alert just sent out, says polls will remain open past 7 p.m. due to "unanticipated traffic volumes and access to" the high school polling location.

5:30 p.m.: Just got off the phone with University of New Hampshire political science professor Dante Scala. Though he said it's too early to say if the turnout will be as high as some are speculating, he said the general rule of thumb is that high turnout favors President Obama and the other Democratic candidates like gubernatorial hopeful Maggie Hassan.

"If it's across the board, I think it favors the Democrats," Scala said, "but if it trends from particular areas of state, it could be one party or the other. A lot depends if it's across the board."

No matter what the state, he said the general feeling is that higher turnout would favor Obama, while lower turnout would favor Mitt Romney. And he sees no reason to doubt that.

4:30 p.m.: Salem Patch Editor Jake O'Donnell caught up with Republican gubernatorial candidate Ovide Lamontagne at the Ingram Senior Center in Salem. He was cautiously optimistic about his chances to defeat Democrat Maggie Hassan, saying he's "encouraged" by what he's seen touring the southern part of the state today. 

We also caught up with Secretary of State William Gardner in Merrimack this afternoon. We'll have video of his take on Election Day for you shortly.

4:20 p.m.: WMUR reports that the Attorney General's Office says there have been no major issues with the Voter ID law. The television station also says state officials are urging voters not to wait till the last minute to cast their ballots because there could be some long lines tonight.

4 p.m.: For those interested in what's going on in New York, here's a Storify post about how people on Long Island, still facing power outages and a gas shortage, are doing whatever it takes to get to the polls

2:15 p.m.: Across the state, we're hearing about huge turnout and long lines at the polls. Could we set a record today?

"The turnout's been pretty incredible," said Bedford Town Councilor Chris Bandazian, with close to 1,000 residents an hour casting ballots in town.

There have been no major confirmed Voter ID issues yet, but in Hampton there have been a couple of complaints.

1:30 p.m.: Echoes of James O'Keefe in Nashua? Carol Robidoux reports on Nashua Patch of a tweet indicating that the political activist heard from a friend who allegedly had someone vote under his name in the Gate City. She's checking it out. But has anyone experienced, heard or seen any voter ID issues at the polls today? 

10:55 a.m.: Unlike on primary day, no major issues involving Voter ID as of yet, according to our eyes and ears out in the field. In Portsmouth's Ward 4, ward officials say they've seen very few voters without proper identification.

10:30 a.m.: Is this the nastiest election ever? That's the question Concord Patch Editor Tony Schinella posed to some of the candidates.

In the last 24 hours alone, two particularly nasty attack mailers were sent out. One was in Exeter, where an anonymous political committee accused State Rep. Matt Quandt of drinking on the job. Another was in Concord, where state representative candidate Ron Noyes says a New Hampshire Democratic Party mailer misrepresented his political positions.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Was this election any nastier than past elections? Let us know what you think in the comments field below.

10:25 a.m.: We're still hearing about long lines at many polling places, including Salem, Nashua and also Merrimack, where the police chief has advised people to anticipate heavy traffic in the area of the polling place.

10:20 a.m.: Have a voter or ballot access complaint? Here again are the go-to numbers released by the U.S. Attorney's office (603-715-6355), the federal Civil Rights Division Voting Section in DC (800-253-3931) and the NH Attorney General's toll-free election line: 1-866-868-3703 (which will be staffed until 10 tonight).  

HAVE YOU VOTED YET TODAY? Leave a comment below on your experience, any observations or just a shout-out to your candidate.

10:15 a.m.: Free beer for voting? That was what the Portsmouth Brewery was suggesting. Unfortunately, it violates federal election laws.  According to WMUR, the Portsmouth Brewery was telling patrons it would give anyone who brought in an "I Voted" sticker from the polls a free pint of beer. But they were forced to withdraw the offer after learning it was against the law.

10 a.m.: Mitt Romney has officially cast his vote in his hometown of Belmont, Mass. Belmont Patch caught up with him this morning and got this video of Romney at the polls.

8 a.m.: The polls are now officially open in New Hampshire, and communities like Manchester, Portsmouth, Plaistow and Dover are already reporting long lines as voters try to cast their ballots before heading in to work this morning. In Salem, there was a line outside the door before the polls opened.

WMUR is reporting that Barack Obama and Mitt Romney split Dixville Notch's ten votes at midnight. It's the first time two presidential candidates have tied there. In Hart's Location, the Associated Press says Obama received 23 votes, Romney 9 votes and Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson one vote. We'll have to wait till tonight for results from the rest of New Hampshire.

Presidential race hinges on swing voters

In the race for President of the United States, influential New Hampshire political insiders say the vote could go down to the wire. But mostly, they're just glad the election is almost over.

"All of us will be glad to hear the fat lady sing," said one Democrat.

According to Blue Granite and Red Granite surveys conducted last week, Democratic respondents said Barack Obama ran the best campaign. Republicans say Mitt Romney had the strongest ground game and advertising campaign. But in the end, both sides said it will come down to the swing voters and undecideds.

In 2008, New Hampshire voted Democratic, with 384,591 voters casting ballots for the Obama-Biden team. Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin earned nearly 316,937 votes. Voter turnout in 2008 was just short of 70 percent, and a similar turnout is anticipated this year.

University of New Hampshire political science professor Dante Scala gives Obama a slight lead over Romney in New Hampshire heading into Election Day based on the polls he's seen. He points to several bellwether towns that could be an early indicator of who New Hampshire will go for in the presidential election. They include Rochester, Strafford, Northwood, Hampton, North Hampton, Rye, Stratham, Amherst, Milford, Hollis and especially Bow.

According to our final pre-election Blue Granite and Red Granite surveys, both Democrats and Republicans believe the key to this race will hinge on swing voters and undecideds, rather than just turning out their party's base.

"The Independents are going to be the big story," said one influential Republican.

"It will be a squeaker," said another.

Patch tapped our panels of Republicans and Democrats who hold office, former elected officials, candidates or party activists in two polls conducted between Oct. 31 and Nov. 4. Patch received responses from 37 Republicans and 17 Democrats. The poll is not scientific.

One hundred percent of Democrats said they felt Obama had a better ground game than Romney in the Granite State.

"Watch the Obama ground game," said one Democrat. "The amount of resources they have put into the state is unprecedented."

Sixty-five percent of Democrats felt Obama ran a better advertising campaign in New Hampshire, with the rest saying they thought the ad campaigns were about equal.

Seventy-eight percent of Republicans, meanwhile, felt that Romney had a better ground game than Obama in New Hampshire. That same number also felt Romney ran a stronger advertising campaign here in the Granite State.

Fifty-nine percent of Democrats said convincing swing voters to support Obama will be the key to this election, while 41 percent said it's more critical to turn out the Democratic base.

Eighty-nine percent of Republicans felt that convincing swing voters to vote for Romney will be more important than turning out the GOP base.

Only 35 percent of Democrats said they think the governor's race will mean an increase in votes for Obama. The other 65 percent said it will have no effect.

About half of the Republicans responding to the survey said they felt the governor's race will have no impact on the presidential race, while another 46 percent felt it could have a positive impact on Romney's chances of winning New Hampshire.

Eighty-eight percent of Democrats said they feel the presidential race could help Democratic gubernatorial candidate Maggie Hassan on election night.

Meanwhile, about 75 percent of Republicans said they feel the presidential race could help Republican gubernatorial candidate Ovide Lamontagne's chances. Nineteen percent said they don't think the presidential race will impact the gubernatorial race at all.