Question: Can I still submit my ballot if something was spilled on it? My kids spilled ice cream on my ballot. I’m wondering if that would affect its ability to run through the machine?
Answer: If you immediately wiped off the ice cream and the ballot dried completely without a visible stain, it should be fine. However, if the ballot is stained, smeared or won’t dry completely — or if you’d rather be safe than sorry — request a replacement ballot from your County Elections Division as soon as possible. Oahu voters can do so online, by phone or in person. We’ve received similar questions from voters who spilled water or coffee on their ballots, and they too can request replacements.
To answer another reader’s question: No, do not use correction tape or correction fluid such as Wite-Out to fix a mistake you made marking your ballot. Request a replacement ballot, the state Office of Elections says.
Only active registered voters who were mailed a ballot can request a replacement if their original ballot was lost, damaged, spoiled or was not delivered to them, according to Honolulu County’s Elections Division.
On Oahu, voters can request a replacement ballot via hnlvote.ehawaii.gov (you must have an email address to make the request online), or by calling the Elections Division at 808-768-3800, or by going to a voter service center, such as Honolulu Hale (bring your ID). Find the list of Oahu’s voter service centers and hours at www8.honolulu.gov/elections/voter-service- centers.
Here’s how voters in other counties can request a replacement ballot:
>> Hawaii County: Via elections.hawaiicounty.gov, by calling 808-961-8277, or at a voter service center.
>> Maui County: Via mauicountyvotes.gov, by calling 808-270-7749, or at a voter service center.
>> Kauai County: By calling 808-241-4800 or at a voter service center.
For a link to a list of voter service centers statewide, go to elections.hawaii.gov.
Q: My husband signed my ballot-return envelope by mistake. What can I do?
A: “Cross out the incorrect signature with a single line and sign above or below the signature space,” Honolulu’s Elections Division says on its website. You don’t need a replacement ballot in this case.
Q: I forgot to put my ballot in the yellow sleeve. I just put it in the envelope. Will they still count it?
A: Yes. “Your ballot will be accepted without a secrecy sleeve,” the division says.
Q: The CDC recommends a second COVID-19 shot for people 65 and older, and for people who are “moderately or severely immunocompromised.” How is the latter group defined?
A: “You can be immunocompromised (have a weakened immune system) due to a medical condition or if you received medications or treatments that suppress your immune system. You can self-confirm if you are moderately or severely immunocompromised” to get a second dose of the 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine six months after your first dose, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which updated its recommendations last week.
The update also allows flexibility on a third dose or more for people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised, in consultation with their health care provider; this strategy is known as “shared clinical decision making.”
Examples of immunocompromised people include people who have cancer and are on chemotherapy; people who have had a solid organ transplant and are taking medication to keep their transplant; people who use some medicines for a long time, like corticosteroids; and people with primary immunodeficiency, the CDC says. Read more at cdc.gov/covid/risk-factors.
Mahalo
Mahalo to the many walkers and joggers who assisted in an emergency with a person who had an arm stuck in a gate on Diamond Head Road. They were wonderful. No one stayed to be thanked after the Fire Department came, so I want to say a big Mahalo and thank you so much to all of these wonderful helpers. — A reader
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