Voters clogged the polling sites throughout the five boroughs Tuesday to cast their ballots and elect a new president and determine which political party will dominate the State Senate.

Polls throughout the state closed at 9 p.m.

Balmy weather and clear skies have made waiting in line less difficult. Polls opened at 6 a.m., and many voters experienced long lines filled with people who had wanted to avoid such lines. After an early morning rush, the lines decreased with the start of the 9 a.m. workday, only to lengthen in the afternoon.

Many city residents told NY1 that they waited for an hour or two to vote. Some lines were made up of hundreds of people and stretching blocks.

The record high for voter turnout in New York City was set in 1952 in the presidential race between Dwight Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson. At that time, 3.46 million turned out to vote. In 2004, 2.45 million New Yorkers cast their ballots.

However, one voter in Bushwick, Brooklyn e-mailed NY1 to say that there was no line at the neighborhood polling site and wished that more neighbors had turned out.

Outside of the Surrogate Court Building in Downtown Brooklyn, voters of the 104th Election District reported waiting as long as three-and-a-half to four hours both around and inside the building to vote.

Injured voters on crutches and parents with infant children got in line, unaware that the process would take hours.

One woman who is eight months pregnant waited over three hours to vote.

“People were very nice and they got me a chair,” she said. “And it’s a very important election but it has not been pleasant. It’s important.”

“I was expecting about two-and-a-half hours, but I heard it’s going to be another another two hours, so I wasn’t expecting four-and-a-half,” said another voter.

"This is off the charts," said a third. "I was in and out on February 5th. We have only moved 50 feet in two hours."

People from the 105th and 107th Districts had much shorter lines in the same location.

A polling volunteer said there were not enough voting machines for the 104th District.

Other voters claim that they have encountered broken voting machines and disorganization at the polling places.

“Conditions at the polls at 86th Street and Broadway are appalling,” wrote an Upper West Side voter. “I waited over two hours, there was absolutely no organization. One of the two booths was generally, once I got into the building, empty, because the poll worker looking up names had a broken wrist and was moving extremely slowly.”

In Queens’s 18th District, voters said that all the machines were broken and that people were relying on paper ballots.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg says he waited about 30 to 40 minutes at his polling site this morning at P.S. 6 on Manhattan's East Side.

Bloomberg, who said he voted for a “major party candidate,” has been critical of election officials, saying that despite their claims, they already have enough funding to handle large voting turnouts.

"I've never seen anything like this. I've never even seen a line outside the door in this polling booth, in this polling place, this school,” said the mayor. "And in fact it was all the way, not just around the corner, it was almost around the block when I got here and people were still coming up behind me, a lot of them. Anybody that thinks that democracy is not working in America, just has to look today."

The mayor then criticized the Board of Elections, said it's time for the agency to modernize.

"The real problem is longterm with the BOE. We've been unable to go to modern voting machines. These voting machines are ancient," said Bloomberg. "We don't have in this state early voting. Some people just can't show up on this day. I read in the paper that one- third of the vote has already been cast. We don't have the privilege here in New York and I think that's something else they have to work on."

New York is the last state in the union not to comply with the Help America Vote Act, which Congress passed in the wake of the 2000 presidential elections.

The law requires states like New York to modernize their voting systems.

NY1 reached out to the BOE for comment.

Also seen voting this morning was former Governor Eliot Spitzer and his wife Silda, who also went to P.S. 6 on the Upper East Side.

It was the couple's first public appearance since Spitzer was forced to resign.

He did not take questions from reporters.

Besides the presidential campaign, many crucial state elections are also being decided today.

Two of the closest State Senate races are in Queens, which could determine whether the Republicans will hold onto their 31-29 majority.

In the 11th Senate District, Republican incumbent Frank Padavan is facing a stiff challenge from Democratic Councilman James Gennaro.

Also, in the 15th Senate District, Republican incumbent Senator Serphin Maltese is running neck-and-neck with his challenger, Democratic Councilman Joseph Addabbo, Jr.

In Middle Village, Queens, the home of Maltese, voters were filling the polls. Some even claimed that they knew Maltese personally and felt an obligation to vote for him.

“We’ve been bombarded with fliers and phone calls,” said a voter.

“There’s usually nobody here,” said another voter who was surprised by the turnout.

While voting this morning, Maltese said he did everything he could to ensure holding onto his seat.

"There isn't anything that we could have done that we haven't done," said Maltese. "We're around, we're talking to the people, we've been reaching out to all our constituents. We're hitting every area in my district and we've showed them that we care about them and that I deliver. And that's the difference between me and my opponent."

Addabbo cast his ballot this morning in Jamaica, Queens.

Trying to unseat the man who's held the seat for 20 years, he said he expects the high turnout to work in his favor.

"I knew from the outset, going against a 20-year incumbent's going to be a hard fight but we kept it very positive," said Addabbo. "We spoke about issues and values that matter to most people, and we kept it positive and I'm still talking about issues and values that matter to most people and that's what I'm going to work on as a state Senator."

In the most competitive local congressional race, voters on Staten Island and in parts of Brooklyn will elect a new representative to replace outgoing Congressman Vito Fossella.

Democratic City Councilman Michael McMahon is facing off against Republican former Assemblyman Robert Straniere.

Officials from the Board of Elections expected a near-record turnout, as 715,000 new city voters registered between January and October. More than 200,000 registrations were processed in the last two weeks alone.

Sixty-five Board of Election technicians are stationed throughout the five boroughs to handle voting booth malfunctions. The Board said that in 2007, only four of the city’s 7,000 machines had to be taken out of service. Other possible malfunctions were treated on-site.

With all the new voters, the risk also increases that some could be turned away if their registrations haven't made it to the polling site.

Voters are also reminded to find out their Election District before coming to the poll, to help facilitate their assignment to a particular booth. Those who have recently registered may have been asked to provide personal identification that includes their current address. Such documents could include a driver's license or other ID, like a passport, along with a copy of a paycheck, utility bill or other document showing your address.

While polling sites officially close tonight at 9 p.m., voters who are waiting in line at that hour will still be allowed to vote. After 9 p.m., no more people will be allowed in line.

For more information, look at the NY1 Voter Guide.