Joy Einbund, right, looked over her voting card with friend Jai Cox. Einbund voted late yesterday at the Waikiki Community Center. Polling places on the East Coast had closed, but were still open here. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

Democrats also appeared to be holding their majority in the state House and Senate after an aggressive campaign by Gov. Linda Lingle to elect more Republicans.

Brickwood Galuteria, the chairman of the Hawai'i Democratic Party, said Democrats responded after the close polls brought national attention to the state. "People came to the table and said, 'Oh, man, I better get involved here because my vote really counts.' "

Brennon Morioka, the chairman of the Hawai'i Republican Party, said Republicans were pleased with Bush's performance. "It's comforting to know that we will likely be in good hands for another four years," he said. "It's nice to know that we still have a very good relationship between Hawai'i and the White House."

State voting patterns showed that Kerry and Bush were much closer on O'ahu than on the Neighbor Islands, where Kerry surged. The Advertiser Hawai'i Poll had found that the race was a dead heat with 12 percent undecided, and it was clear yesterday that undecided voters sided with Kerry in the final days.

Vanessa Russo, a ballroom dance instructor from 'Aiea whose husband is in the Navy, said she struggled more than usual this year with her vote. "The last couple of weeks were hard, because of the terrorism issue and Iraq," she said.

But Russo made her choice on domestic concerns like healthcare and gay rights, perplexed that some Republicans made same-sex marriage an issue. "I thought it was more important to base it on things that need to be done in our country," Russo said.

For Mike Donahoe, in Hilo, concern over the war pushed him toward Kerry. He said he believed that Bush was too eager to invade Iraq. "I think it's a vote against Bush, an anybody-but-Bush vote."

Democrats and Republicans alike waged aggressive get-out-the-vote campaigns, from low-tech sign waving to telephone banks and rapid-fire automated recordings from political heavyweights like U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, former President Bill Clinton, Lingle and U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye.

The political parties built on a network of volunteers for the state's federal and state House and Senate candidates.

Jadine Nielsen, state coordinator for the Democratic National Committee, estimated that volunteers made 100,000 phone calls for Kerry over the past few days.

Nonpartisan voter outreach from groups such as the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance might have helped increase turnout, which traditionally benefits Democrats. The council set up phone banks and ran a newspaper ad targeting the Filipino-American community, concentrating on Kalihi and the Leeward coast.

The Hawai'i Poll had shown that Filipino voters were leaning toward Bush.

The advertising blitz that started in Hawai'i last week by national Democrats continued right up to Election Day, with counter-messages from the Republican National Committee and a final spot from the Kerry campaign. The Hawai'i Government Employees Association, which usually concerns itself with state races, took out full-page newspaper ads that highlighted issues beneficial to Kerry. "This time it really counts," the ad read.

Personal visits from former Vice President Al Gore and Kerry's daughter, Alexandra, to Kalihi Friday night were followed by trips to the Neighbor Islands by U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, who finished second to Kerry in the Hawai'i presidential caucuses, and Vice President Dick Cheney's Halloween rally at the Hawai'i Convention Center.

U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., made last-minute calls to Hawai'i media. Kennedy told The Advertiser that Kerry's election would enhance the power of the state's two Democratic senators. "Hawai'i needs a good team in Washington," he said. "It's a really powerful one-two punch for Hawai'i."

Sharleen Agmata, a photographer and University of Hawaii-Manoa student, said she looked within herself before deciding.

"I wasn't really sure, so I prayed about it," said Agmata, who went with Bush. "I think I made the right choice.