First exit polls show voters back Clinton as commander-in-chief and Trump on the economy – but country is united in relief that election is almost over 

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Voters reckon Hillary Clinton will make a better commander-in-chief, but that Donald Trump is more to be trusted with the economy, as polls close across America. 

In the exit poll by Fox News, Clinton just edges out Trump as the presidential candidate whom voters believe will make a better commander in chief, at 49 per cent to his 46 per cent.

But the Republican wins at who the population believes will make a better job of the economy, at 48 per cent to her 46 per cent. 

And six in 10 voters said that they were bothered by Clinton's email scandal - less than the seven in 10 who were concerned about Trump's treatment of women, according to Fox.  

The ability of the next president to bring change is the quality that matters most, according to a CNN exit poll.

Thirty-eight per cent of voters say change is their most important issue - more than the 22 per cent who said the right experience and good judgement mattered above all else.

Just 15 per cent of voters said that the most important thing is to have a candidate who 'cares about me'. 

And a majority of voters decided months ago who they would vote for: 62 per cent picked their candidate before September, the poll found.  

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The ability of the next president to bring change is the quality that matters most, according to a CNN exit poll

The Republican wins at who the population believes will make a better job of the economy, at 48 per cent to her 46 per cent, according to a Fox exit poll

Six in 10 voters said that they were bothered by Clinton's email scandal - less than the seven in 10 who were concerned about Trump's treatment of women, according to a Fox exit poll 

Americans casting early ballots and voting in the first hours of Election Day are looking to elect a 'strong leader' as the next president, more than they want other characteristics that usually drive voters.

More than one-third of them, 36 per cent, said a strong leader is at the top of their shopping list, a quality that on its face describes the swashbuckling Republican Donald Trump more closely than it does Democrat Hillary Clinton.

The Morning Consult exit poll also gave voters the option of picking other attributes for their next president.

One with 'a vision for the future' was the second most popular, with 29 per cent. The remaining two options, someone who 'shares my values' and someone who 'cares about people like me,' tied at 16 per cent each.

The 'strong leader' option polled twice as high as it did four years ago when Mitt Romney lost the 2012 election to President Barack Obama.

Trump, the hard-charging reformer known more for his merciless business acumen than for blue-sky thinking, has cut a unique path through Americans' political life, arguing for 17 months that the nation needs a bold outsider to upset entrenched elites' apple carts and 'drain the swamp' in Washington.

His message resonated in the GOP primary season as he trounced a field of 16 contenders by having the loudest and most unapologetic voice in the room.

The Morning Consult exit poll, conducted in conjunction with Politico, also found that most American voters can't wait for Election Day to be in their rear view mirrors – but are deeply apprehensive about what might come next.

Eighty-five percent said they 'just want it to be over'; another 72 percent described their moods as 'anxious' and 71 percent were 'nervous.' 

CRUNCH TIME: Donald and Melania Trump cast their ballots at a New York City public school designated P.S. 59

FINISH LINE: Hillary Clinton is hoping to be the first female U.S. president but a steady stream of scandals has contributed to voters' overall fatigue

A smaller number of voters said they were 'angry' about the election. Half were 'sad. And 39 per cent chose an even more dire adjective: 'depressed.'

The 2016 campaign was among the most viciously fought in modern history. Clinton painted Trump as a womanizing abuser and a tax cheat, a racist and xenophobe.

Trump called Clinton 'crooked Hillary,' accusing her of selling her State Department office 'to the highest bidder' and hammering away at her national security scandals – including lies she told about the presence of classified documents on a private email server.

His take-no-prisoners approach angered liberals but fired up conservatives, who came to his rallies b ythe tens of thousands and came to see him as a populist firebrand carrying a golden torch.

Perhaps because of the lengthy air of acrimony, just 29 per cent of voters told pollsters they were 'proud' of the election, and 25 per cent said they were 'happy.'

Americans are voting on Tuesday in political races at all levels, from President of the United States to school board members and everything in between.

Clinton has pledged to build on much of what Obama has cone in the past eight years. Trump's repeated promise has been to reverse course in nearly every respect.