Sunday's election is for Catalonia's 135-member Parliament, located in the region's capital Barcelona. Secessionists argue if they win 68 seats, the result would give them a democratic mandate to initiate a split from Spain that could include a unilateral declaration of independence.
The central government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says it will use all legal means to prevent Catalonia from breaking away, an exit European leaders warn would include ejection from the European Union.
Voting stations opened at 07:00 GMT on Sunday in Spain's richest region of 7.5 million people where separatist feeling has increased in the recent years of economic crisis
Opinion polls show the conservative Mas and his left-wing allies in the pro-independence list Together For Yes could win that majority and nearly half the votes overall.
Artur Mas, Catalonia's nationalist president, told a crowd of tens of thousands of supporters as he was wrapping up election campaign on Friday that the vote would "lead to freedom".
Artur Mas has promised to launch a roadmap towards independence by 2017 if he wins a majority in the regional parliament.
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