Following an unprecedented level of early absentee voting, tens of thousands of Hawai'i residents will cast ballots today to decide which candidates face off in the Nov. 7 general election.

Today's Democratic primary race for the U.S. Senate between incumbent Sen. Daniel Akaka and challenger Rep. Ed Case, has drawn the most attention. But nearly 300 other candidates are running for more than 100 federal, state and county offices, including the U.S. House seat for Hawai'i's 2nd District.

More than 94,000 voters had already cast absentee ballots statewide through the mail or in person by Thursday night — the most ever for a state primary. About 80,000 voted absentee in the 2004 primary, and just under 70,000 did so in 2002.

Jean Aoki, legislative chair of the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Hawai'i, said she hopes the fierce competition for the Senate and House will help reverse the longtime trend of decreased voter turnout.

"We're hopeful that we'll get a better turnout," Aoki said. "I would imagine that because there are so many campaigns, and it's so competitive, that the efforts made by the campaigns should add to voter turnout."

Only four out of 10 registered voters participated in the 2004 primary, though seven out of 10 voted in the 2004 general election. But many others who are eligible to vote have never registered.

It's important to recognize that every vote makes a difference, Aoki said.

"Everyone should know the value of that person's one vote," she said. "It's all these one votes put together that determine who wins and who doesn't."

655,000 ARE REGISTERED

More than 655,000 Hawai'i voters have registered to cast ballots today — nearly 30,000 more than were registered for the 2004 primary, but about 12,000 fewer than registered for the 2002 primary.

The biggest increases in absentee voting this year were in mailed ballots, which candidates had encouraged in highly contested races to increase turnout among supporters. Mailed ballots received yesterday and today could easily raise the total absentee ballot count to 100,000 or more, said state voter services coordinator Rex Quidilla.

The shortage of 900 poll workers reported last week has been substantially alleviated, and all precincts will be sufficiently staffed, he said.

Akaka, 82, is strongly backed by Hawai'i's Democratic establishment and has drawn attention to his three decades of experience in Washington and consistent opposition to the war in Iraq. He has called for a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq by next July.

Case, 53, is supported by other Democrats and independent voters. He has characterized Akaka as ineffective and has argued that it is time for a leadership transition. Case maintains that a scheduled and premature U.S. withdrawal from Iraq would embolden terrorists and lead to chaos there.

The Honolulu Advertiser/ KHNL News8 Hawai'i Poll of likely Democratic primary voters found Akaka leading Case 51 percent to 38 percent with 11 percent undecided. The statewide poll of 601 voters was conducted early this month and had a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

The winner will face off Nov. 7 against a Republican candidate who may not even be on the ballot today. That's because a leading Republican, Jerry Coffee, withdrew from the race for health reasons. His name remains on the primary ballot, however, and if he beats the five other Republicans despite his withdrawal, the party will have to pick a replacement to run in the general election.

Honolulu City Clerk Denise DeCosta stressed that it is now too late to mail in completed absentee ballots, but said voters can still bring them directly to polling places or the clerk's office by 6 p.m. The latter is preferable because it will speed up the counting process tonight, she said.