SACRAMENTO - Lines may be long, and results may take awhile because of record voter registration that may lead to record turnout.

But California Secretary of State Debra Bowen said Tuesday that on the whole, she's not losing sleep over the state's ability to handle next Tuesday's general election.

"There's no particular issue where I feel that California counties haven't prepared as well as they could," said Bowen, at a media briefing to preview Election Day, now a week away. "I think we're in good shape."

Bowen said that some counties are still tabulating the flood of new voter registrations that came in before the Oct. 20 deadline, and that some registrars of voters had asked for an extension beyond today's deadline to submit those numbers to her office.

That extension was turned down, she said, and state elections officials hope to release final registration numbers by Friday.

"We do know we are going to set a registration record," Bowen said, with many counties reporting a surge of voter applications right up until the deadline.

A new record would trump the one set four years ago, when 16.1 million Californians were registered to vote in the 2004 presidential election.

Voter growth is being seen among both younger voters and voters who may have registered at one time but haven't voted or even let their registration lapse in later years, Bowen said.

Also notable is the rise in popularity of voting by mail, she said, giving San Benito County as an example.

There, about 13,000, or more than half of the county's 24,000 registered voters, are expected to vote by mail in this election, she said.

But there will still be plenty of interest in precincts on Election Day itself. During peak times, such as at lunch or after typical working hours, expect long lines, she said.

Bowen wouldn't predict overall turnout, but said that some counties have reported that a third of all of their registered voters have already returned ballots by mail.

Because many counties post their vote-by-mail results soon after polls close at 8 p.m., Bowen said, it's possible that in some areas, results from a majority of voters will be known early in the night.

Some counties have already begun processing their vote-by-mail ballots, she said, though they're not allowed to officially tabulate them until after polls close next Tuesday.

 Still, with high turnout expected, patience will also come in handy, Bowen said.

"Everything's going to take longer, particularly in the larger counties by population," she said.