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ANCHORAGE?Hundreds of thousands of Alaska voters were expected to cast their ballots Tuesday, drawn to the polls by the presidential race, a bitterly contested U.S. Senate campaign and a number of hot-button propositions.

Lt. Gov. Loren Leman, whose office oversees elections, predicted at least 300,000 of the state?s 472,160 voters would participate, according to his chief of staff Annette Kreitzer. That would be the highest turnout since statehood.

One telling indicator of this year?s election, Kreitzer said, is the record number of absentee ballots sent out this year?58,559, nearly double the number sent out in 2000.

?We?re also going by what folks are telling us. So many groups have organized drives to get out the vote,? Kreitzer said. ?Whether that translates to people getting out remains to be seen.?

Tom Godkin, elections administration supervisor, said a prediction was difficult to make but he expected the turnout to be higher than the 55 percent to 60 percent average over the past decade.

It would be surprising if voters stayed home, said staffers for Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Democratic challenger Tony Knowles.

The two have spent millions of dollars in the race?one of the most competitive U.S. Senate campaigns in the nation. In the final days before the election, both have rallied people to go to the polls.

?We?re expecting a very large voter turnout, maybe even a record,? said Knowles spokesman Bob King. ?People are particularly motivated this year to get out and vote.?

Beside the presidential and Senate races, other draws are several high-profile state ballot initiatives, including measures to legalize marijuana and ban bear baiting.

Another hot initiative, signed by 50,000 Alaskans, would require Senate vacancies be filled by special election. The measure was prompted by Murkowski?s 2002 appointment by her father, Frank Murkowski, when he vacated the Senate after being elected governor.

The Senate and presidential races are the biggest motivators in getting people to polls, as far as the Murkowski campaign is concerned.

?With the importance of the Senate race and all the attention it?s gotten, combined with the president being on the ballot, we expect voter turnout to be real high,? said spokesman Elliott Bundy.