By MARTIN MERZER, GARY FINEOUT and LUISA YANEZ | Miami Herald

As expected, Sen. Hillary Clinton swept to victory Tuesday in Florida's delegate-less Democratic presidential primary. In the Republican contest, John McCain defeated Mitt Romney, capturing 57 GOP delegates.

''Florida has always been a special place for me and it is all the more so tonight,'' McCain said during a victory celebration in Miami. ``Our victory might not have reached landslide proportions, but it is sweet nonetheless.''

Rudy Giuliani, destined to finish a distant and crushing third or fourth in a state he absolutely needed, seemed ready to drop out of the Republican race.

''Win or lose, our work is not done,'' Giuliani said Tuesday night during a rally in Orlando. ``You don't always win, but you can always do it right.''

In another contest of major interest to Floridians, voters approved a constitutional amendment intended to rein in the state's rising property taxes. The measure needed to win the favor of at least 60 percent of Tuesday's voters -- and it did.

In addition, Miami-Dade residents decided by a healthy margin to allow Las Vegas-style slot machines at three parimutuels.

Some cities conducted local elections. In Hollywood, Mayor Mara Giulianti conceded to challenger Peter Bober, her 20 years in office coming to an end.

Clinton's win in Florida yielded not a single delegate, but provided some momentum in the wake of her South Carolina loss last weekend to Barack Obama, who finished a distant second in Florida, where Democrats were prohibited from campaigning.

''I could not ask you for your votes,'' Clinton said Tuesday night during a rally at the Signature Grand catering complex in Davie, near Fort Lauderdale. ``But I'm here to thank you for your votes.

''I am so grateful to the countless Floridians who organized on their own,'' she said. ``You made a very big difference, and as we go forward in this campaign, all of your voices will go with me.''

On the Republican side, as McCain thanked his supporters, standing at his side were Gov. Charlie Crist and U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, both of whom endorsed McCain during the Florida campaign's closing days.

He sounded a conciliatory theme, making gracious comments about his opponents, but expressing special gratitude for Florida's voters.

''I've always loved this beautiful state,'' McCain said.

Statewide, the turnout was heavy, but possibly not sufficient to exceed the 58 percent primary record set in 1972.

''Things are so bad right now that people are realizing you have to vote,'' said Andrea Mayhew, a social worker from Palmetto Bay. ``You can't complain about it if you don't vote.''

Polls officially closed throughout the state, but many precincts -- including dozens in Broward County -- stayed open a little late so they could serve voters already in line at the 7 p.m. deadline.

Though disputes between the national and state branches of both parties prevented Democratic candidates from campaigning and cost Democratic voters all 210 of their convention delegates and Republican voters half their 114 delegates, Floridians seized a perfectly timed opportunity:

Their votes gave momentum to some presidential candidates and dimmed -- or even extinguished -- the hopes of others as the nationwide primary marathon advances toward next week's Super Tuesday cascade of primaries and caucuses in more than 20 states.

''I think our voices always need to be heard,'' Kiera Black, 28, said as she and her two young children stood outside a voting station in Vero Beach. ``It sends the message that voting is important and we do need to act on it.''

The election played itself out without major systemic problems, but -- as is inevitable in any statewide election -- some voters in Pembroke Pines, Miami Beach and elsewhere found themselves defeated by technology or human error.

Kurt Browning, Florida's secretary of state, called the problems ''normal Election Day fare.'' Asked about voter response overall, he said: ``I believe it's safe to say we're looking at a steady turnout today.''

That pump was nicely primed by the more than 1.05 million early and absentee ballots that were cast even before the polls opened Tuesday.

On the campaign trail, the Republicans took their final shots in Florida.

McCain hammered Romney during an appearance Tuesday in St. Petersburg and Romney hammered McCain during a rally at the Tampa Convention Center.

During a television interview, Crist was asked about assertions that McCain was too liberal. Crist responded by calling for a more refined discourse.

''I don't believe in labels, and I don't think that's appropriate, frankly,'' Crist said. ``I think what's important is we stay focused on what people stand for, on what their vision is for the future of our country, a more civil tone if you will.''

The outcome in Florida seemed particularly consequential for Giuliani, who staked much of his strategy on a Sunshine State victory but has trailed badly behind McCain and Romney in recent preelection surveys.

On the Democratic side, all major surveys had suggested that Clinton would handily defeat Obama and John Edwards.

State officials predicted an extremely high turnout of Florida's 10.2 million registered voters, though the vigorous response during two weeks of early voting suppressed lines at many -- but not all -- of the state's 6,913 precincts.

In Miami-Dade County, the combined total of early and absentee votes -- 129,083 -- matched all votes cast during the 2000 presidential primary, when 12 percent of the county's electorate turned out.

One measure of this election's overall importance: More than 116,000 people who are not registered with either major party -- and cannot vote in the presidential primaries -- already have voted on the property tax amendment.

Eight years ago, during the last contested primary in both parties, only 19 percent of Florida voters -- 1.34 million people -- showed up.

The property tax measure was of special importance to many voters, addressing a hot-button issue throughout a state that does not impose an income tax.

Instead, Florida relies on sales taxes that have remained relatively constant and property taxes that, mostly for new homeowners, have soared in response to increased real estate values.

The amendment will increase the existing homestead exemption, retain current caps on annual property-tax hikes and provide ''portability,'' allowing most current homeowners to transfer accumulated tax-cap savings to a new home anywhere in Florida.

''It's better than nothing,'' Hanni Von Metzger of Miami Beach said just after voting.

Some opponents, however, say it doesn't go far enough to relieve property owners of their burdens, while others worry that it will siphon funds from police and fire-rescue departments and other vital public services.

''I really don't understand it,'' said Fred Dumenigo of Kendall. ``I think it's too complex. If you really look at it, there's no substantial savings. They need to come up with something better.''

Still, the presidential primaries served as the main attractions for voters -- even though the ultimate value of those votes was open to question.

The national Democratic Party stripped Florida of its convention delegates and the Republican Party stepped halfway in the same direction after the Legislature scheduled an early primary that violated national party rules.

Democratic leaders also extracted a promise from their candidates to boycott the state, restraining themselves from campaigning here -- except, of course, for raising money from Floridians.

Months ago, the loss of those delegates seemed to be just an annoying technicality, but it could prove more costly.

With both parties locked in tight nomination battles, some analysts are suggesting that, for the first time in many years, the choice of one or both major candidates might actually depend on ballots cast during the conventions.

One footnote to the state's blemished electoral history:

This is the last big election in which voters in Broward, Miami-Dade and 12 other counties will use touch-screen machines.

By the fall, those devices will be replaced statewide with optical-scan machines that produce a paper trail for the recounts that are becoming a new tradition in the state.

''I don't care what kind of machine, as long as the vote counts,'' said Loraine MacIntyre, 85, who moved to Florida from upstate New York in 1967. ``We've had too many fiascoes -- it makes you doubt how many of your votes have counted.''

Herald staff writers Evan S. Benn, Erika Beras, Elinor J. Brecher, Marc Caputo, Oscar Corral, Jay Ducassi, Laura Figueroa, Breanne Gilpatrick, Cindy Krischer Goodman, Mary Ellen Klas, Phil Latzman, Jennifer Lebovich, Phil Long, Patricia Mazzei, Mauricio Melinu, Curtis Morgan, Tere Figueras Negrete, Susannah A. Nesmith, Yudy Pineiro, Matthew I. Pinzur, Andrea Robinson, David Smiley, Dominick Tao, Carli Teproff, Sarah Tompkins, Tania Valdemoro and Casey Woods contributed to this report.