(Washington) Barack Obama brought his two young daughters to the ballot box in Chicago as he cast a vote in the election he hopes will make them the first black family to occupy the White House.

The Democratic presidential nominee and his wife, Michelle, were among the first to vote after polls opened Tuesday at Chicago’s Beulah Shoesmith Elementary School. They cast paper ballots in side-by-side booths with 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha looking on.

“The journey ends, but voting with my daughters, that was a big deal,” Obama told reporters later.

At times while he completed his ballot, Obama grinned at his daughters and whispered to them. His wife took longer to fill out the lengthy ballot with several local offices up for consideration, and at one point Sasha hugged her father’s leg, looking impatient. Obama later joked that he had to check who is wife was voting for after she took so long.

Afterward, Obama traveled to Indiana for a final campaign stop.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden has cast his ballot at a private school about half-mile from his home in the Wilmington, Del. area.

Biden walked into the school holding the hand of his mother, Jean Biden. Biden’s wife, Jill, and his daughter, Ashley, also cast their ballots. After emerging from the voting booth, Biden gave a thumbs up and kissed his wife.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain voted at a church near his home in Arizona late Tuesday morning.

McCain predicted a come-from-behind win before heading to a rally in Grand Junction, Colo., and a volunteer site in New Mexico. He then will return to Phoenix to watch election night returns.

“Look, I know I’m still the underdog, I understand that,” McCain told CBS’ “The Early Show” in an interview early Tuesday morning.. “You can’t imagine, you can’t imagine the excitement of an individual to be this close to the most important position in the world, and I’ll enjoy it, enjoy it. I’ll never forget it as long as I live.”

Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin returned to Alaska to cast a ballot for president in her hometown of Wasilla.

She immediately returned to the airport for a flight to Phoenix to join McCain for the Republicans’ watch party Tuesday night.