The race for president and worries about the economy are driving local voters to the polls in large numbers with five absentee polling centers open from now until Nov. 1.

City voting officials report a steady turnout since the polls opened Tuesday.

“;The machines are working perfectly and the turnout has been big,”; said Hollister Iwashita, the assistant city clerk supervising the voting at Windward Mall. “;This is an exciting time.”;

At the University of Hawaii's Manoa Campus Center, Nalie Felix said the first day's voting was nearly equal to the entire turnout for the primary election.

Voters are also finding varied reasons to come out.

The big issues are the presidential and mayoral races, whether to endorse the city's rail plan and whether to have a Constitutional Convention.

Because Mayor Mufi Hannemann is the top proponent of rail, some voters see the mayoral race and the rail question as linked.

At City Hall, Norman Shea, 69, a retired stevedore, said he does not like the rail plan and also supports Hannemann's opponent, Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi.

“;I know Kobayashi doesn't have too much money to help with all those commercials, but I kind of like her ideas,”; Shea said. “;I don't think rail would actually improve anything, and there is no guarantee it is going to get funded.”;

He added that he was concerned that Hannemann, if re-elected, might leave in two years. “;He would quit and move on. Then he wouldn't see it through,”; Shea said.

Beverly Fleming, 69, a retired shipping manager, said she was looking for a presidential candidate “;who could think things through and come to logical conclusions.”;

“;To me, (Sen. John) McCain has been so negative, while (Sen. Barack) Obama has been focusing on the issues,”; Fleming said.

At UH, Paul Richards, 52, director of the university's education talent search program, said he works with Leeward high school students and knows Honolulu's transportation problems, and he thinks the city's rail program is needed.

“;How will students come in to the UH?”; Richards said. “;Right now it is a nightmare.”;

Asked about the presidential race, Richards, who said he was a registered Republican who voted for President Bush, said he was switching this year.

Watching the vice presidential debate with his family, Richards said the performance by Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin put him off.

“;You could see where someone was using facts and someone was using opinions — she wasn't focusing on the topics, she was avoiding everything,”; Richards said.

Over on the Windward side, Jacqueline Maly, an unsuccessful candidate for mayor in the September primary, was voting for Kobayashi and against rail.

“;I voted for Kobayashi because she is against rail,”; said Maly, a retired college professor.

She was equally firm in her opinions on the race for president.

“;McCain has a lot more experience, and Obama scares the hell out of me,”; Maly said.

The issue of a Constitutional Convention did not seem to be attracting much voter interest. Some, like Eric Cassera, 62, a cardiopulmonary technician, said it was confusing. “;I skipped it because I didn't understand it,”; he said. Any ballot that does not cast a vote for or against the Constitutional Convention will be counted as a no vote.