DES MOINES (AP) — Record early voting in Iowa will likely mean record turnout at the polls on Election Day, officials said Tuesday.

More than 461,300 absentee ballots have been requested across the state as of Monday. That includes ballots requested by those who cast ballots at satellite centers and county auditor’s offices.

The numbers are slightly more than four years ago. Of those, nearly 340,000 have been returned, according to the Iowa secretary of state’s office.

Secretary of State Michael Mauro said voter registration has already surpassed 2004 numbers at 2.14 million and he expects that despite heavy early voting, there will be a record turnout at the polls next week.

“I think we’re going to see record numbers and see nice crowds on Election Day,” Mauro said.

He said he expects turnout to surpass the 2004 rate of 72 percent.

“If we get 1.6 million voters, that’s big numbers when you’re talking about 2.1 million registered voters,” Mauro said.

In Polk County, Iowa’s most populous county, early voting is keeping election workers busy.

Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald said record numbers of people showed up at satellite voting centers, in part because the centers were kept open an extra week. He said 24,000 voters cast ballots at the Polk County centers. He also said there has been record turnout at the county auditor’s office.

“We’re seeing lines in our office — I’ve never seen it like this before,” Fitzgerald said. “From sunup to sundown, people are always there. No matter how many people we put at the counter, it never stops.”

Among those casting an early ballot Tuesday was Gov. Chet Culver.

Democrats traditionally have strong early voter turnout, but Fitzgerald said he’s also seeing a big Republican turnout and for the first time early voting from the Green and Libertarian parties.

He said 200,000 Polk County residents voted in 2004, and he expects an even higher turnout this year.

“We’re expecting 200,000 to be the low number,” he said.

Neither Mauro nor Fitzgerald expect the hectic pace of early voting will curtail turnout on Election Day.

“We’re expecting it to keep coming,” Fitzgerald said.

This also will be the first presidential election in which Iowans could take advantage of same-day voter registration. Although some may be registering at polling places, Mauro said he doesn’t expect it will interfere with the flow of voting on Tuesday.

“There are procedures in place, certain things voters have to do, but there will be a separate table set up to handle those people so it doesn’t slow up the rest,” Mauro said.