The number of absentee ballots cast statewide in this year’s general election is expected to top those in 2008.

On Oahu the city mailed out 104,000 general election ballots and had received 68,800 (66 percent) as of yesterday morning, five days before the election.

In the 2008 general election, the city mailed 86,000 ballots, and more than 77,000 ballots (89.5 percent) were returned.

City Elections Administrator Glen Takahashi said the 2010 election might see absentee votes exceed voters casting ballots Tuesday at precincts on Oahu. That would be a first.

"We’ll see if we eclipse the 50 percent," he said.

In Kauai County more than 50 percent of the ballots in the 2010 primary were cast by voters before Election Day, either by absentee mail-in or early walk-in.

Statewide, absentee ballots comprised 44.4 percent of votes in the 2010 primary.

Takahashi said the number of walk-in voters prior to Election Day appears to have decreased on Oahu compared with the general election of 2008.

But that could be because the 2008 election drew broad interest and there were more venues for walk-in voting, he said. Since then the number of walk-in sites has decreased to three from five.

Walk-in voting on Oahu continues through tomorrow between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. at Kapolei Hale, Honolulu Hale and Windward Mall.