But the currency later recovered to gain slightly against the West German mark and the yen.
The dollar surged to 135.42 yen, the highest since September 1991, before the Japanese currency recovered somewhat.
Since then the Korean currency has partly recovered, but the country is headed into deep recession.
The dollar advanced yesterday in a largely technical session that saw the currency recover some of its losses from the previous day.
The Brazilian currency, the real, has recovered from its swoon during the election.
Brazil's currency, the real, which was down 3 percent earlier yesterday, recovered to close down half a percentage point at 3.82 to the dollar.
Sometimes the currency recovers, but the higher interest rates always produce a recession.
The currency recovered somewhat between 1986-88, trading near the R 2 level most of the time and even breaking beneath it sporadically.
If these tensions ease after this weekend's poll, then the currency may recover in the near term.
Japanese stocks also tumbled initially, though they rebounded by midday and the currency recovered somewhat.