Will McClatchey of Manoa, far left, and son Joel wait in line to vote this morning at Noelani Elementary School. The race for president, described by pollsters as a dead heat between President Bush and Sen. John Kerry, was clearly on the minds of many Hawai'i voters. Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

"This was a busy morning," said Paula Brick, precinct chairwoman at the Church of the Crossroads polling station in Mo'ili'ili.

"We haven't had an empty booth all morning."

It was theme repeated all over O'ahu, but not quite as much on the Neighbor Islands, where the biggest problem appeared to be angry bees dive-bombing Hilo election workers at Kaumana Elementary School.

As in years past, voters at 'Aina Haina Elementary in East Honolulu were up before the sun.

Linda Starr, precinct captain, said there were people lined up from the cafeteria doors to the parking lot at 6:30 a.m.

After two hours, more than 300 people had voted, she said.

An election worker at the site for 18 years, Starr predicted there would be a high voter turnout, perhaps as much as 60 percent.

"We're taking bets on what the voter turnout will be," she said.

"I'm not sure what's bringing them out. But it's been steady with every booth filled."

The race for president, described by pollsters as a dead heat between President Bush and Sen. John Kerry, was clearly on the minds of many Hawai'i voters.

Until a week ago, Hawai'i was still viewed as a predictable, almost irrelevant Democratic stronghold with only four electoral votes in the race for president.

And the state's polls would close after much of the nation had already voted.

But the close race brought both campaigns to Hawai'i over the weekend and the state's voters were suddenly told they might decide the race for president.

"I don't know if we're actually a swing state," said Donna Ede, who voted at her polling place in 'Aina Haina after playing tennis.

"But I definitely feel that I have a right to cast my two cents. The presidential election is very important to me."

Across town at Kapalama Elementary School, voter turnout was estimated at 10 percent above normal, said precinct captain Warren Okuma.

Many voters there said they felt it was important to vote early because of the closeness of key races, particularly the presidential election.

"This year it seems more important to vote," said Shawn Takabayashi, a 33-year-old Kalihi resident.

"I usually vote later in the day, but I wanted to make sure I voted today."

The polls opened without problems, said Rex Quidilla, spokesman for the state Office of Elections.

"It's going well," he said at 8 a.m.

"All the precincts are up. There doesn't seem to be any start-up issues."

He said Noelani Elementary School, a Manoa polling location that was covered with mud by a flash flood Saturday night, was ready to go this morning.

"It looked great," Quidilla said.

But precinct chairwoman Jerilyn Jeffryes said she wasn't sure last night if clean up crews would finish in time for the election.

"The whole area with the parking stalls was covered with sludge," she said this morning.

Noelani custodial crews wedged voters into half the normal space in the school cafeteria, but voters were not bothered by that.

On the Big Island, things appeared to be running smoothly this morning, with the polls noticeably busier than during the primary, when Big Island turnout dropped to a historic low.

"It's been steady. It's been looking good, at least for the morning," said Rodney Nakano, troubleshooter for the state Office of Elections.

By 9 a.m. today Nakano had visited polling places at Hakalau, Pepe'ekeo and Kaumana.

"It looks better to me," he said. "Just the number of cars, that's a good sign."

Kaua'i voting places generally had lines of voters when they opened, but the pace quickly dropped to a steady flow of voters.

"It seems like about average turnout at the polls," said Kaua'i County Clerk Peter Nakamura.

The island had record early voting, with close to 25 percent of all registered voters casting ballots either through absentee mailings or early voting at the County Building.

Nakamura said the size of the early vote could result in a high voter turnout, even with average turnout at the election-day polls.

Hanama'ulu precinct captain Hannibal Huihui said that in his working class community, many people vote around their work schedules.

He said he expected a rush of voters at the noon lunch hour "and again from about 3 to 4 o'clock, and it should stay steady that way right to closing."