Washington, Nov. 5, SPA -- Voter turnout in the U.S. election this week hit more than 120 million, the highest number in 36 years, an independent research institute estimated. The Committee for the Study of the American Electorate said that amounted to 60 per cent of eligible voters. The Washington-based institute used election results and estimates of votes yet to be counted to determine the number, which easily outdid 2000's 105 million and was the highest since President Richard Nixon's win in 1968. The largest turnout in the states came in the battlegrounds where the presidential race was too close to call when the polls opened Tuesday. Minnesota had the highest at 76 per cent, followed by Wisconsin with 74 per cent and New Hampshire at 72 per cent. The lowest turnout was in Arizona with 42 per cent. It was the only state where turnout declined, the committee said. A high turnout was expected in the usually ambivalent United States because of the presidential race between incumbent George W. Bush and his Democratic challenger, Senator John Kerry, which was hard fought in a society so divided politically that the race remained neck-and-neck until election day. Bush won with 51 per cent of the vote. --SP 0053 Local Time 2153 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/215623