Voters can still cast early ballots today, but O'ahu has already topped early turnout in the last presidential election.

The number of people voting had hit 53,000 statewide when polls at county seats and other early voting sites opened yesterday for the second-to-the-last day of early voting. On O'ahu, the count was 29,343, compared with 29,000 total early ballots in 2004, according to elections spokesman Rex Quidilla.

Early voting continues at nine offices today — five on O'ahu, two on the Big Island and one each on Maui and Kaua'i. All are open until 4 p.m.

Voting was brisk yesterday at University of Hawai'i-Manoa and Honolulu Hale, said Quidilla.

As of Tuesday, the early vote count on O'ahu was 29,343, on the Big Island 13,617, on Maui and Moloka'i 6,125, and on Kaua'i 3,923.

That's not counting absentee votes mailed into county election headquarters, which will be included in the precinct count from Tuesday's voting. In all, early and absentee voting in 2004 totaled 133,762.

Democrat Barack Obama is expected to win big in the state where he was born, and his campaign has been urging early voting.

Residents of O'ahu, the Big Island and Kaua'i are also voting in mayors' races, and a host of other offices are on the ballot across the Islands.

Quidilla said officials expect voting to go smoothly as it did in the September primary.

But he cautioned that with 3,600 poll workers across the Islands, including 2,500 on O'ahu, human error is always possible.

He said because voting is on a work day for many residents, lines are expected to be longest in the morning and evening.

Statewide, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. They'll stay open until all voters at the sites have voted.

It's possible the presidential race could be decided nationally, based on exit poll results, as early as 4 p.m. Tuesday Hawai'i time, while polls in Hawai'i are still open for another two hours.

The first Hawai'i results are expected to be reported between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. local time, but the state winner in the presidential election in Hawai'i likely will be called by TV networks when the polls close, based on exit polling. The outcome of other races will have to wait for the actual vote count.