INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Long lines formed at polling sites across Indiana for Tuesday's historic election, but in the end relatively few balloting problems emerged and even Lake County reported results much sooner than many had feared.

Voters lined up an hour before polls opened in cities including Hammond and Bloomington, and some larger precincts reported waits of up to two hours throughout the day despite record early voting.

Patrick Gabrione, a Republican member of the Lake County Election Board, said the vote counting in the Democratic stronghold went faster than expected. Within four hours of the polls closing, 74 percent of the vote had been counted — a remarkable turnaround from its late reporting in the May primary that drew national attention.

"It's going to be an earlier evening than anyone anticipated," Gabrione said.

Sporadic problems developed, including poll workers who didn't show up, machine and power glitches, and voters going to the wrong sites, but election officials and watchdog groups appeared pleased overall with the voting process. Several precincts stayed open past the normal 6 p.m. closing time to accommodate voters who had queued up before the deadline.

Julia Vaughn, policy director for government watchdog group Common Cause Indiana, said getting a quick start was a priority for voters.

"People who wanted to get there early and wanted to be the first to vote were often joined by a whole lot of other people," she said.

Lake County last chose a Republican for president with Richard Nixon in 1972 and was seen as a crucial factor in Democrats' efforts to win the state's presidential votes for the first time since 1964. The county is the state's second most populous and most diverse and heavily favored Barack Obama over John McCain.

About 30,000 people voted early in the county, but Election Board attorney Fred Work said many precincts reported "long, long lines" in the morning. A power failure forced election officials to bring in generators for three Hammond precincts, but he reported no other major problems.

Voter Daymond Ware, 49, of Gary, said people rallied around Obama's message.

"We're doing pretty bad right now, and any time things are going bad you want change," Ware said.

In Indianapolis, meanwhile, Connie Smith, 53, backed McCain and running mate Sarah Palin.

"I think she brings the diversity to the side of the Republican Party," Smith said.

Jim Gavin, a spokesman for Secretary of State Todd Rokita, said the state received complaints that some candidates were campaigning too closely to polling sites. He also said some precincts did not apply the state's voter identification law as stringently as needed.

In Marion County, the state's most populous, Clerk Beth White was pleased with voting. She said only three of 590 election inspectors didn't show up. They included one who dropped off her ballots and poll books before going to a hospital because of illness.

Polling locations in Allen, Lake and Vanderburgh counties, three of Indiana's largest, all reported heavy voting traffic at times. Allen County Election Board spokesman Zach Klutz said long waits prompted the board to send more staff or voting machines to some spots.

Vanderburgh County Election Board President Tom Massey said early voting helped tame Election Day traffic. Some 27,000 people cast early ballots there, he said.

"We've had a surprisingly smooth election," Massey said.

Statewide, a record 4.5 million voters were registered. Almost 669,000 people voted early, either in person or by mail-in ballot, by Tuesday morning. During the last presidential election in 2004, about 260,000 residents voted early.

Bryce Smedley, a Democratic poll inspector in Monroe County, said some voters tried to present driver's licenses from other states or forgot ID cards altogether. The county is home to Indiana University and many out-of-state students.

Smedley said his precinct averaged about 200 voters per hour.

"The students have shown up to have their voice heard," Smedley said.

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Associated Press writers Tom Murphy and Deanna Martin in Indianapolis and Michael Marot in Bloomington contributed to this report.