Some ventured out soon after sunrise, filing into school gyms and libraries, courthouses and church halls to have their say in the nation’s choice of its next president.

But as a long and bitterly contested campaign ticked through its last hours Tuesday, millions of other Americans flocked to join them.

In the shadow of casino towers, people lined up to cast their ballot outside Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium.

At a courthouse in the Bronx, fellow citizens voted under a mural depicting the nation’s first president.

In small towns and big cities and places in between, voters put pen to paper to exercise what may well be democracy’s most fundamental freedom.

At some polling sites, parents brought their children with them, taking advantage of a teachable moment. At others, senior citizens came to vote along with their adult children, some dependent on one another for assistance.

And across the country, election workers scrutinized voting rosters and mail-in ballots, intent on ensuring the results.