Venezuelan Presidency via EPA

Venezuelan ruling party presidential candidate Nicolas Maduro, bottom left, greets his supporters after casting his ballot at a polling station in Caracas, Venezuela, April 14. Maduro said the election has seen a participation record and he hopes to be the president to keep and improve the policies of late President Hugo Chavez.

By Alexandra Olson and Frank Bajak, The Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela — Voters who kept Hugo Chavez in office for 14 years were deciding Sunday whether to elect the devoted lieutenant he chose to carry on the revolution that endeared him to the poor but that many Venezuelans believe is ruining the nation.

Across Caracas, trucks blaring bugle calls awoke Venezuelans long before dawn in the ruling socialists' traditional election day get-out-the-vote tactic. This time, they also boomed Chavez's voice singing the national anthem.

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People line up to cast their votes at a polling station in Petare shantytown, Caracas.

Ramon Espinosa / AP

Residents look for their names on voter lists outside a polling station during the presidential election in Caracas.

Ramon Espinosa / AP

A voter has her finger marked with ink after casting her ballot.

Fernando Llano / AP

Opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles greets supporters after casting his ballot.

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Venezuela's acting president and presidential candidate Nicolas Maduro gestures during his closing campaign rally in Caracas on April 11, 2013 ahead of Sunday's presidential election.

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Opposition candidate Henrique Capriles attends a campaign rally in Barquisimeto, Lara state, on April 11, 2013.

The late Hugo Chavez's self-declared socialist revolution will be put to the test at a presidential election on Sunday that pits his chosen successor against a younger rival promising change in the nation he polarized.

Most opinion polls give his protege, acting President Nicolas Maduro, a strong lead over opposition challenger Henrique Capriles thanks to Chavez's endorsement and the surge of grief and sympathy over his death from cancer last month.

Ramon Espinosa / AP

Supporters hold a toddler wearing a Maduro-style mustache at the closing campaign rally for Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on April 11, 2013.

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Supporters of Henrique Capriles attend his closing rally in Barquisimeto on April 11, 2013.

Tomas Bravo / Reuters

Nicolas Maduro, left, watches former Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona kick a ball during Maduro's closing rally on April 11, 2013.

The candidates closed out official campaigning on Thursday with dueling rallies, both drawing hundreds of thousands of boisterous supporters. Taking a page out of Chavez's playbook, a fiery Maduro marched through the streets of the capital draped in a Venezuelan flag and called on voters to follow "commander Chavez as the spiritual guide of the fatherland."

"I am the son of Chavez," the burly 50-year-old former bus driver shouted to supporters in downtown Caracas. "I am ready to be your president."

Capriles, an energetic 40-year-old state governor, wrapped up his campaign in the nearby city of Barquisimeto. "Those who govern today have never done anything for your security. Sunday we're going to choose between life and death," he roared to the crowd. "If you want a future, you have to vote for change, for a different government." Read the full story.

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Capriles pours water on his head during his final rally on April 11, 2013.

Enric Marti / AP

A soldier looks through binoculars at people gathered along Bolivar Avenue for the closing campaign rally for ruling party presidential candidate Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on April 11, 2013.

Jorge Silva / Reuters

Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro and National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello hold each other as they talk after Maduro's swearing-in as caretaker president following the death of President Hugo Chavez in Caracas March 8, 2013.  Read the full story.

Slideshow: Hugo Chavez: 1954 - 2013

Francisco Gomez / Spanish Royal / EPA

Supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez mourn his death and gather for his funeral.

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Slideshow: Hugo Chavez dies: The world reacts

Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters

Supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez across the Americas mourn his death.

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