Hawaii island is famous for geographic and weather extremes, but the lava flow that threatens to isolate Puna voters in November, after Tropical Storm Iselle hindered the primary in August, could be particularly disruptive.

Creeping toward Pahoa at about 10 yards an hour, the lava from Kilauea Volcano could potentially reach Highway 130 by Election Day on Nov. 4, possibly cutting off 7,500 voters and forcing county and state elections officials to consolidate polling places like they did when Iselle struck just before the primary.

This time, elections officials have had two months, instead of days, to prepare. After the confusion in the primary, when election results were delayed by a week until Puna voters could cast ballots and many claimed they were denied the right to vote, there is pressure to execute.

State Sen. Russell Ruderman (D, Puna) said if the lava hits Highway 130 by Election Day, voters may still be able to get to their precincts — or to consolidated precincts — from emergency access roads.

"I don’t think we’re going to have people isolated, physically unable to vote like we did during Iselle," he said. "But it’s going to be tremendously inconvenient. And, once again, it will result in a differential on whether you can vote — and how easily you can vote — based on where your precinct is."

In September, voters in three Puna precincts — Keonepoko Elementary School, Pahoa Community Center, and Pahoa High and Intermediate School — were mailed absentee ballot applications so they could vote by mail either from their homes or from temporary addresses if they have fled because of lava danger.

Last week, a special early voting walk-in site opened at Nanawale Estates Community Center in Pahoa so voters could have the option of voting before the so-called June 27th lava flow advances closer to the highway.

"Everything they can do to get people to vote now is good, and I think they’ve worked hard to do that," said David Tarnas, chairman of Hawaii County Democrats, who was critical of elections officials after Iselle. "And so I want to commend the county for doing that and the state Office of Elections for doing that.

"We’ve been trying to encourage people to vote."

Ruderman, who had called for Scott Nago, the state’s chief election officer, to be fired after Iselle, would have preferred an all-mail election for the Puna precincts in November. The senator is not satisfied with preparations.

"My opinion of the Office of Elections’ responsiveness is something you couldn’t print," he said. "I’m really frustrated with them on several levels. I think they’re handling everything wrong. So I can’t say anything good about what they’ve decided."

Stewart Maeda, the Hawaii County clerk, said the county would wait until another assessment of the lava flow on Monday before publicly announcing any revised election plans. He said elections officials do not want to confuse voters about where they are supposed to vote in the event the lava does not cross Highway 130 and no polling places are consolidated.

Maeda said the county has ensured there will be enough ballots on both sides of the lava flow in case voters have to be diverted away from their usual precincts.

"We don’t want to create confusion but we want to give notice as early as possible if the potential appears that Highway 130 will be impacted by Election Day," he said.

The state Elections Commission found that Nago acted appropriately during the primary, when elections officials opted not to open two Pahoa precincts because of storm damage and allowed voters to cast ballots a week later at a consolidated precinct at Keonepoko Elementary. Many voters in precincts that had opened on schedule complained that they were trapped by fallen trees and debris and could not get to the polls, but they were not given another chance to vote.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii filed a legal challenge on behalf of several Puna voters, but the state Supreme Court ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the complaint because it was not a typical election challenge that sought to change a specific primary result.

Election snafus in 2012 — when precincts on Hawaii island opened late in the primary and Gov. Neil Abercrombie extended voting hours, and when some precincts on Oahu ran out of ballots in the general election — previously tested public patience in a state that struggles with low voter turnout.

"There’s a lot being done, a lot more being done than in any typical situation, to ensure that those residents are able to vote," Rex Quidilla, a spokesman for the Office of Elections, said of Puna voters.