CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – Voters excited about competitive races in both parties set a record for turnout in New Hampshire’s primary Tuesday.

With ballots from 12 percent of voting precincts still to be counted, about 453,000 residents had cast votes, breaking the previous primary turnout record of 396,385 ballots cast in 2000.

State officials predicted that when all ballots were counted, the total would surpass 500,000. “Turnout is high, very high,” Secretary of State William Gardner said earlier Tuesday as the polls were closing.

Gardner said he hadn’t seen complete vote tallies, but noted that 2,300 people had voted by 2 p.m. in Bow. The town’s previous record at that hour was 1,600 votes.

He also predicted a record for voters registering at the polls, which has been allowed in New Hampshire for the last three primaries.

While some election officials had to hustle to find or copy blank ballots, no significant delays were reported. Voting officials in several towns briefly ran out of ballots and substituted unused absentee ballots or photocopied ballots.

Voting officials in several towns briefly ran out of ballots and substituted unused absentee ballots or photocopied ballots. “We’re overwhelmed. We had to use extra paper ballots that we hadn’t anticipated,” said Salem moderator Charles Morse.

In Waterville Valley, town clerk Pat Kucharski said voter turnout was “exceptionally heavy,” particularly for the Democratic primary.

Last week, Gardner estimated that 500,000 ballots would be cast between the Democratic and Republican primaries, shattering the record 396,385 cast in 2000.

Tuesday night, he said he saw no reason to doubt a record would be set. He also predicted a record for voters registering at the polls, which has been allowed in New Hampshire for the last three primaries.

Voting was strong in the state’s two largest cities.

“It’s a very busy day. I think it’s going to be a high turnout,” Manchester City Clerk Carol Johnson said.

Manchester Ward 5 clerk Madeline Walsh reported heavy turnout.

“There was 1,961 voters reported, and based on what I can tell, that’s almost double of typical primary years,” she said. She still had to hand-count more than 100 ballots that were rejected by voting machines for various reasons.

In Nashua, City Clerk Paul Bergeron was projecting 55 percent to 60 percent voter turnout and expecting a record number of voters, but he wasn’t sure if it would be a record for percentage turnout.

AP-ES-01-08-08 2358EST