Greece votes on financial future, government - and maybe euro

Greek voters headed to the polls on July 5 to vote in a historic, tightly fought referendum on whether to accept worsening austerity in exchange for more bailout funds, in a gamble that could see it crash out of the euro.

Across the country of 11 million people -- on far-flung Aegean islands, in the shadow of the 2,400-year-old Parthenon in Athens, to the northern border shared with fellow EU state Bulgaria -- voters began casting their ballots.
 
The rest of Europe, and international investors, will be watching intently, unsure of the outcome that could greet them on July 5. Polls suggest both the 'Yes' and 'No' camps are neck-and-neck.
 
Dozens of people were queuing outside schools and university buildings transformed into polling stations, with doors opening sharply at 7:00am local time (0400 GMT) and set to close 12 hours later.
 
"I'm voting 'No' because I think it's better for the country," said 80-year-old Michelis, first in through the doors of a school being used for the vote on Skoufa street in central Athens.
 
"If we vote 'No' they'll take us more seriously," he said, adding that he was "not voting for myself, but for my grandchildren" and their future.
   
Theodora, 61, a retired journalist, said she was voting 'Yes' because "it's a 'Yes' to the European Union".
 
Greece's youthful Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, a radical leftist who came to power six months ago, has staked his political career on the plebiscite.    

He announced it a week ago in a bid to break a five-month impasse with international creditors, insisting a 'No' vote would force a restructuring of Greece's massive debt and a softening of drastic austerity conditions.
         
But many who first backed...