The innovative drive-thru voting system was opened late Monday in Santa Ana, southeast of Los Angeles, as part of a push to encourage eligible voters to register and vote ahead of the November 4 presidential polls.

"We want to do everything we can to take the stress off at the voting precincts on election day," Orange County Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley said.

The booth was set up at the registrar's offices in Santa Ana, with voters directed into lanes before casting their ballots at eight voting machines. The machines used were designed to meet disability requirements, making them a good fit for vehicles, Kelley said.

California election officials are forecasting a record turnout across the state for this year's polls.

Kelley said the number of people registering to vote by mailed ballots had soared from some 330,000 in 2004 to 600,000 this year.

Copyright AFP 2008, AFP stories and photos shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium