Election Day 2012 is history in Pennsylvania.

Polls closed at 8 p.m. across Lancaster County and the state after what many observers here called a large turnout in the hard-fought race for president and Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes.

Long lines greeted voters today as they went to the polls to finally decide if President Barack Obama or Republican challenger Mitt Romney will lead this country forward in the next four years.

New exit poll data this evening showed 6 in 10 voters ranked the economy the top issue. The majority who don't yet see economic improvement were roughly divided over whether things were getting even worse or just stuck in place, The Associated Press survey found.

Rising prices and unemployment were heavy on the minds of voters today even as a glimmer of optimism peeked through, with 4 in 10 saying the nation's economy is getting better.

There was wide agreement that the economy still has far to go — three-fourths of voters said it was poor or not so good, according to preliminary results of exit polls. Only a fourth thought they were better off financially than four years ago when President Barack Obama was elected, The AP survey found.

The mood at the polls in Lancaster County was a mix of anticipation and patience as voters waited in line up to 45 minutes in some places to cast their votes in a hard-fought election that many think will be a close one.

Sara Brubaker, 56, of Manheim Township, arose early to be the first voter at St. Peter's Lutheran Church, where about 50 people waited in line, as temperatures hovered in the 30s, outside the Delp Road church.

Brubaker, a teacher, cast her vote for Obama because of his views on women's issues and his record, she said. She also praised him for trying to work for bipartisanship in a polarized political climate.

"I'm very excited," she said.

Ed Zielinski, 47, of Manheim Township, did not agree. Obama, he said, needs to go.

"He has ruined this country," he said, continuing, "Where should I start? I think the economy, his policies. In short, he's a socialist."

If Romney is elected, Zielinski said he hopes he focuses on economic recovery, and reforming the welfare system.

RELATED: Live Coverage of Election Day in Lancaster County

Inside the church, where it was warm, people chatted in line and checked their phones as they waited to cast their votes.

Clad in a patriotic tie, Joe Wells, judge of elections, said, "I would say we have an excellent turnout this morning."

People seened to take the long lines in stride, and no major problems were reported at polling places.

An Elizabethtown polling place, Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, held a fundraiser by selling Michelle Obama and Ann Romney cookies, made according to recipes the two women submitted to Family Circle magazine. By noon, Mrs. Obama's cookies, chocolate chip with white and dark chocolate chips, were outselling Mrs. Romney's, peanut butter and oatmeal with M&Ms and raisins, by a three-to-one margin, a church worker reported.

In addition to voting in the presidential race, local voters will be making choices in seven contests: two for seats in Congress, one for the state Senate and four for the state House.

All over the county, turnout was very heavy early today, said Randall Wenger, the county's top elections official.

Voters were being asked for, but not required to show, an ID, in accordance with a recent ruling by a Commonwealth Court judge on the state's voter ID law.

The county's elections office was getting phone calls from people who wanted to check their registrations, and their polling places, Wenger added.

People can check their registration here.

Other voters knew right where to go, crowding parking lots and streaming into polling places.

The line snaked down the floor of the gym at the Franklin & Marshall College Alumni Sports & Fitness Center on Harrisburg Pike. As swimmers methodically did laps in a nearby pool, voters, many of them F&M students, cast their ballots.

Dorcas Kamanda, 63, a city resident, said she was voting for Obama.

"What he says is what he is doing," said Kamanda, a nurse midwife who is studying for her master's of divinity degree at the Lancaster Theological Seminary. "Romney kept changing his positions so much. I felt like he was saying things so he can win."

But Terry McCandless, 59, a city resident, said Romney was "the better choice."

Obama tried, he said, but did not accomplish much and the economy suffered.

"Jobs should be Romney's priority," he said. "There are too many people in the cart, and not enough people pulling the cart."

Jobs also were the top priority of Randy Bowman, 53, a Manheim Township resident who voted at St. Peter's.

Bowman has a temporary job but is unemployed and having a hard time finding full-time work.

Romney, he said, has bought out corporations that later laid off workers. Obama inherited a "financial mess" that he is working on fixing.

"I"m hoping things get better," he said.

In Millersville, at the Grace United Methodist Church, Millersville University senior Alex Wagner said he was choosing Obama.

"From what I've seen, I really like how President Obama is trying to help us out with debts after college," said Wagner, 22, a computer science major.

In Reinholds, Stan Prince, 34, was a first-time voter and registered Republican, who cast his ballot for Romney.

"I think it is important to have the right candidate for our economy," Prince said.

Elaine Miller, 65, voted for Obama, and for Democrat Kathleen Kane for state attorney general. Miller said she has a strong interest in women's issues.

In New Providence, voters talked about moral issues, Medicare, Social Security and bipartisanship as they cast votes at the New Providence Church of God.

Debra Zook, 54, of New Providence, said she chose Romney based on "moral issues and the way our country's going."

Rob Sellers, 62, of New Providence, said he voted for Obama because he thinks he deserves a chance at a second term and "hopefully this time around we'll get a little more cooperation from Republicans in the House of Representatives, so we can actually get something done."

In Maytown, Pete Risser, 56, said he was pleased with Obama and wanted to give him "more time to get out of the mess that trickle-down economics got us in."

Dressed in a head scarf featuring the American flag, Kim Arms, 50, said the problem has been Obama. The Romney supporter said, "I think it's time for a clean slate and a fresh start and a new beginning."

Ephrata Township voters sat in church pews at the Hope United Methodist Church on Rothsville Road, as they waited for their turn to vote. Almost 500 had cast their polls by 10 a.m.

Social issues and the economy influenced voters.

Marcia Vitalo, 78, said she voted for Romney because he will bring the country back "to where we used to be _ a country to be proud of."

Most residents interviewed in Blue Ball and Terre Hill this morning said they voted for Romney. Their concerns included health care, abortion, the national debt, taxes, foreign policy and education.

(Also contributing to this story were correspondents Patrick Burns, Kimberly Marselas, Chad Umble, Dean Lee Evans, Donna Wetherhold, Elaine J. Jones and Roxanne Todd.)

cstauffer@lnpnews.com