When the polls open at 7 a.m. today, the Office of Elections says it is prepared for more than 400,000 voters to show up.

Elections officials plan for a 100 percent turnout of Hawaii's 691,356 registered voters, said Chief Election Officer Kevin Cronin.

But a turnout that high is not likely, even with high interest in the races for president, mayor and transit.

In the last presidential election, 431,662 people voted, about 66.7 percent of registered voters. About 30 percent voted absentee.

This year, elections officials expect roughly 163,000 to 174,000 people to vote absentee, depending on how many voters return mail-in ballots by 6 p.m. today.

The big unknown is how many more people will turn out today.

Cronin, along with Republican and Democratic Party leaders, all expect a high turnout, but nobody is willing to guess how high.

Democrats and Republicans have different takes on what a high turnout will mean.

“;I believe the high voter turnout will favor McCain, based on character,”; said Willes Lee, chairman of the Hawaii Republican Party.

Andy Winer, state director of the Obama campaign, said he's hoping a high turnout will expand the margin of victory for Obama, who could be the first U.S. president born in Hawaii.

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“;We have an internal goal here of trying to have the largest percentage victory of any state,”; Winer said.

Rex Quidilla, a spokesman for the state Office of Elections, said the state was looking for about 50 more poll workers last week.

But that slight shortage is still better than the primary election and previous elections when there was a shortage of hundreds of workers.

About 40 people attended the last poll worker training class at Lehua Elementary School on Saturday, including first-time poll worker Mabel Suzuki.

“;I hear it's going to be a big election and they need all the help they can get,”; Suzuki said, who said friends asked her to sign up. “;It's been an exciting election ... I decided I'll do my civic duty.”;

In the primary election, some polls opened late because poll workers didn't show up.

“;Like any large operation that involves volunteers, there's some uncertainty, but we try our best,”; Quidilla said.

Since the general election is on a work day for some, lines tend to be longest in the morning, at lunch, and in the late afternoon.

To avoid the peak lines, Quidilla suggests voting between 10:30 a.m. and noon and between 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Those still in line at 6 p.m., when the polls close, will be able to vote.

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If there are long lines when the polls close, that could delay when the first election results come in.

The first printout isn't released until all polling places are closed, which should be sometime between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m.

The first results will consist of absentee walk-in votes and most mail-in ballots received before today.

Once polling places are closed, the machines and the ballots are taken to the state Capitol to be counted.

The electronic card in the machines is read by the central counting machines and results on some ballots are audited by poll watchers to make sure they match the results.

The ballots that arrive earliest at the Capitol will likely be included in the second printout, scheduled to be released at about 9:30 p.m.

In general, more ballots from outlying precincts like the North Shore and West Oahu arrive later and are in the third printout.

The final printout, which will likely come out early tomorrow morning, will contain any last precincts and absentee ballots received on Election Day.