Voters engaged and thoughtful about candidates and issues
It is my biennial reaffirmation that, at the end of the day, the voters know best.
On the first day of walk-in absentee voting, I ask those who just voted what’s on their mind.
This year the big race is for governor, and the two top Democrats, Mufi Hannemann and Neil Abercrombie, are in a battle that seems incredibly even.
At the same time, this year there is a strong and vocal Republican minority that really wants you to know they are out there.
"I am a tea party supporter and a conservative Republican," said a Kailua housewife.
"I want our representatives to pay attention to us," she announced.
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Another woman voter in Honolulu said she also was voting Republican in the primary because, "I don’t approve of the high taxes we are getting."
WALK-IN ABSENTEE VOTING SITESAll four counties are offering walk-in absentee voting now through Sept. 16 from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Voters should bring identification such as a state ID card or driver’s license. To avoid lines, officials advise, plan on voting between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. » Honolulu: Voters can walk in at City Hall, Kapolei Hale in Kapolei and the former satellite city hall near Sears on the second floor of Windward Mall. » Kauai: Voters can go to the county building in Lihue at 4386 Rice St. » Maui and Molokai: Walk-in voting at the Clerk’s Office at 200 S. High St., Wailuku; on Molokai, in the Mitchell Pauole Center in Kaunakakai. » Big Island: Voting at the County Building at 25 Aupuni St. in Hilo; at the Waimea Community Center; the Kona Elections Satellite Office, 75-143 Hualalai Road; the Pahala Community Center; and the North Kolohala District Courthouse in Kapaau. |
A young Honolulu voter who said she was a U.S. Defense Department analyst reported doing a serious search for information about the candidates. She ignored the elaborate Web pages put up by Abercrombie and Hannemann and instead looked for independent accounts of the two Democrats. Happily for us pencil pushers, she "also got a lot of information from reading the daily newspaper."
There was little disagreement among those taking a Democratic ballot that the two issues shaping their decisions are the economy and the state of public education.
"The two candidates are equally good. It seems Abercrombie is stronger in education and Mufi seems to be more oriented in efficiency in government. I thought at this point, we need the economy going before we can fund education," a retired insurance executive told me.
Also part of the equation is how well — or not –Hannemann gets along with people.
"Mufi doesn’t seem to work well with people, but Abercrombie does," said a Kaneohe woman who added that she considered Abercrombie to be part of the "old boy network" and would vote for Hannemann.
In contrast, a retired city planner said he was making sure he voted early because he was strongly against Hannemann. "I like everything about Abercrombie, his experience and his work, but not Mufi," he said.
There was no way to determine if any of the candidates’ own messages were resonating with my admittedly small sample of voters.
Instead, what was encouraging was how hard the voters are listening and how important they consider this election.
