• 
  (Photo: REUTERS)
  Linda Santini, a volunteer for Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, fills in her survey sheet as she speaks with undecided voter Bob Belanger about his vote.

Hours before Election Day, the latest and final presidential poll by Gallup was released, showing GOP candidate Mitt Romney holding a one point lead over President Barack Obama.

Romney is supported by 49 percent of likely voters while Obama is backed by 48 percent. Among independents, 46 percent favor Obama and 45 percent back Romney.

The survey was conducted Nov. 1-4 with a random sample of 3,117 adults, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

Among college graduates, 55 percent support Romney and 43 percent favor Obama. The president has the edge among postgraduates, 57 percent of whom choose Obama and 39 percent of whom select Romney.

A majority of Protestant and "other Christian" voters, 56 percent, favor Romney while a majority of Catholic voters, 52 percent, prefer Obama.

Obama and Romney were tied at 48 percent among likely voters from Oct. 1-7 but after the presidential debates, Romney took the lead by three to five points later that month. Obama has closed the gap in the latest poll and many speculate that the president's response to superstorm Sandy may be reason for it. A majority of likely voters, 68 percent, say they approve of the way Obama handled the storm response.

Follow us

On handling the economy, however, less than half (42 percent) approve of Obama's performance.

More voters say Romney would better handle the economy and work well with both parties to get things done in Washington than Obama would.

With Election Day on Tuesday, Gallup found that 10 percent of likely voters are still undecided. Three percent have no candidate preference and 7 percent name either Obama or Romney but say they might change their minds.

Romney voters are slightly more likely than Obama voters to say they are certain in their choice.

In other polls, the race is tied. The final CNN/Opinion Research poll, released Sunday, shows Obama and Romney each with the support of 49 percent of likely voters. The final USA Today/Gallup battleground state poll, the candidates are each backed by 48 percent of likely voters in 12 top battleground states.

In Ohio, a poll released Monday by the University of Cincinnati shows Obama leading Romney, 50 to 48.5 percent (after undecided voters are forced to pick a candidate). In New Hampshire, the final WMUR/University of New Hampshire poll shows the president with the edge, 50 to 45 percent among likely voters.