Despite the historic presidential campaign, voter turnout in Hawai'i fell below the last presidential election in 2004.

The state Office of Elections reported that 63.1 percent of registered voters cast ballots with most of the votes counted last night, compared with 67 percent four years ago.

The lower voter turnout was a surprise given the attention to Hawai'i-born U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign. Democrats and Republicans had predicted that turnout would be higher than in 2004.