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James Reynolds is at a polling station in Simferopol: "There's no option on this ballot paper for people to keep things as they are"
Crimea is voting on whether to rejoin Russia or stay with Ukraine but with more autonomy.
The referendum has been condemned as "illegal" by Kiev and the West but is backed by Moscow.
Since the fall of Ukraine's pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych, Russian troops have in effect taken control of the majority ethnic-Russian region.
Voters are expected to support leaving Ukraine, but Crimean Tatars are boycotting the poll.
There are reports of high turnout at polling stations visited by the BBC in the capital, Simferopol, and mainly Tartar Bakhchisaray. But all Tartars spoken to by the BBC in Bakhchisaray said they would not vote.
Election official Mykhaylo Malyshev said there had been a "record-breaking turnout" of 44.27%, after six hours of voting.
Voting across Crimea started at 08:00 local time and will close at 20:00 (18:00 GMT).
On the ballot paper, voters are being asked whether they would like Crimea to rejoin Russia.
A second question asks whether Ukraine should return to its status under the 1992 constitution, which would give the region much greater autonomy.
Some 1.5m voters are eligible to cast their ballots, and the first results are expected to be released shortly after the referendum.
Continue reading the main storyEthnic Russians form a clear majority in the region (58.5%), and many of them are expected to vote for joining Russia.
Crimea's pro-Russian Prime Minister, Sergey Aksyonov, casting his ballot, said the vote was going well.
"As you can see, people are voting freely. There are no problems at polling stations. I don't feel or see that any pressure is being applied," he told Interfax news agency.
At a busy polling station in Sevastopol, one voter, a 66-year-old woman, described the day as a holiday. "I want to go home to Russia. It's been so long since I've seen my mama," she sang to an AP reporter, using the words of a patriotic song.
Crimea
- Autonomous republic within Ukraine
- Transferred from Russia in 1954
- Ethnic Russians - 58.5%
- Ethnic Ukrainians - 24.4%
- Crimean Tatars - 12.1%
- Source: Ukraine census 2001
But there are also those who would like Crimea to stay part of Ukraine but with more local powers.
"In my opinion, Ukraine should have full autonomy so it can look after its own finances. There should be no pressure from the government. I favour independence," Serhiy Reshetnyk told the BBC.
'No common vision'Russia earlier vetoed a draft UN resolution criticising the vote - the only Security Council member to do so.
The US-drafted document was supported by 13 Council members. China, regarded as a Russian ally on many issues, abstained from the poll.
Explaining Beijing's decision, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the draft resolution would "only result in confrontation and further complicate the situation".
The US and EU had warned they would impose further tough sanctions on Russian officials if the referendum went ahead.
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Russia's envoy voted against the draft resolution at the UN Security Council
Russia intervened in the Crimean peninsula by seizing control of government buildings and blocking Ukraine's troops at their bases after the fall of President Yanukovych on 22 February.
However, the Kremlin officially denies deploying extra troops there, describing them as Crimea's "self-defence forces".
In other developments:
- Kiev accused Russian forces of seizing a village, Strilkove, just north of Crimea, describing the move as "the military invasion"
- In Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, pro-Russia demonstrators gathered in support of the Crimea referendum
- Tens of thousands of opponents and supporters of Russia's actions in Ukraine held rival rallies in Moscow on Saturday
Crisis timeline
- 21 Nov 2013: President Viktor Yanukovych abandons an EU deal
- Dec: Pro-EU protesters occupy Kiev city hall and Independence Square
- 20 Feb 2014: At least 88 people killed in 48 hours of bloodshed in Kiev
- 22 Feb: Mr Yanukovych flees; parliament votes to remove him and calls election
- 27-28 Feb: Pro-Russian gunmen seize key buildings in Crimean capital Simferopol
- 6 Mar: Crimea's parliament asks to join Russia and sets referendum for 16 March
- 15 Mar: Russia vetoes UN Security Council resolution condemning Crimea independence referendum
The authorities in Kiev - backed by the EU and US - have condemned the Crimea vote as "illegitimate". They say a free vote is impossible under a "barrel of the gun".
The Ukrainian parliament has also voted to disband Crimea's regional assembly.
But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that Moscow would "respect the will of the people of Crimea".
Speaking after marathon talks in London with US Secretary of State John Kerry, Mr Lavrov admitted that both sides had "no common vision" on how to solve the crisis.
Mr Lavrov said that Russia had no plans to invade south-eastern Ukraine, despite a massive military build-up on the border with its neighbour.
The Crimean region was part of Russia until 1954.
Russia's Black Sea fleet is also based in Crimea. But Moscow has signed agreements promising to uphold Ukraine's territorial integrity.
Are you in Crimea? Are you planning to vote in the referendum? Email us at haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with the subject heading 'Crimea vote'.
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