How is Hawaii doing with its voter engagement? It depends upon what numbers are consulted and whom you ask; but any way you cut it, there’s room for improvement.
When properly motivated, Hawaii has shown enthusiasm at the polls, starting with its admission to the union. However, the exuberant community electioneering and stew-and-rice political rallies are historical artifacts: This is a different social and political reality now, after more than a half-century.
Ever since statehood, the islands’ voter participation has migrated on a generally downward track to a famously low voter turnout record. Participation in the primary election during the 2018 midterms (the last gubernatorial election cycle), stood at 38.6% of registered voters.
Percentage-wise, the 39.6% of registered voters who cast their ballots by Saturday doesn’t look like much of an improvement, given that the state transitioned to a vote-by-mail system two years earlier.
But in terms of registrations and ballots cast, the voter engagement picture looks a bit rosier. Scott Nago, state chief elections officer, pointed out that 338,477 ballots came in for this primary, compared with about 286,000 four years earlier.
“Here’s a shocking fact: Hawaii’s voter turnout for primary elections is actually among the highest in the nation, although it used to be much, much higher,” said Colin Moore, political analyst and associate professor and director of the University of Hawaii Public Policy Center. “It’s in the general election that it slumps relative to other states.”
One explanation: In this Democratic Party-dominated state, most of the key battles are fought in the primary contests, which generates more of the voter excitement.
In any case, where other states are putting up barriers to voting, Hawaii can rightfully take pride in the efforts made by lawmakers and elections officials to make casting a ballot as convenient as possible. They included enacting same-day voter registration and easy-access absentee balloting that culminated in the all-mail system.
And when that system took full effect in 2020, coupled with the general excitement around that presidential election cycle, the results were dramatic: a 17 percentage-point increase from 2016, Moore said.
Even so, there should be efforts to clear away any remaining impediments.
Counties should reconsider how many voter service centers they have in place in the final week before Election Day. On Maui, the sole center that was open at the end had long lines of voters who had missed their chance to mail their ballot. All counties should look for ways to expand service for the general election and review whether drop-box locations are accessible to the more remote communities.
Even on Oahu, where that wasn’t as much of an issue, there were plainly would-be voters who simply waited too long. Rex Quidilla, Honolulu elections administrator, said in the first three days after the primary, there were 1,942 mailings that came in, ballots that were too late to be counted. Had they been, it could have changed the outcome in some close races.
Nago said initial messaging — something like “Ballots must be in by 7 p.m. on Election Day”— changed in the final week to a warning to deposit ballots in drop boxes, because it was too late for the mail. Surely that message should be amplified for the general election.
Ultimately, Nago said, convenience isn’t the only factor behind higher turnout. Voters also need a reason to feel their vote is important.
That is true. But if any barriers remain, it’s worthwhile to go that extra step to remove them. As all have seen with the number of close races this cycle, there can be real power in every vote, and in a democracy we should work to capture that power.
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