Question: I am a registered Republican. Can I register as a Democrat and vote in the caucus March 26 and still vote Republican in the primary?

Answer: Yes, but given that you haven’t sincerely changed your political beliefs, both parties discourage this tactic as an unethical ploy that exploits Hawaii’s neutral voter registration and open primary system.

Before we get to all that, some background:

When people register to vote in Hawaii, they don’t declare a party affiliation; the state Office of Elections doesn’t collect that information. People join political parties on their own. The parties keep their own, separate membership rolls.

Primary elections winnow the field of candidates within each party in contested races, deciding who will continue to the general election. Hawaii holds open primaries, which means that every voter gets a ballot that includes all the parties’ candidates. In the privacy of the voting booth, the voter chooses a single party and selects which of its candidates should advance. So yes, you may back any party in the Hawaii state primary, which is Aug. 13. The general election is Nov. 8.

As for the Hawaii Democratic Party’s presidential preference poll, to be held in conjunction with the party’s precinct meetings Saturday: It is possible to join the Hawaii Democratic Party by then — and being a party member and a registered Hawaii voter are prerequisites to participate. Voters can join online at hawaiidemocrats.org or sign up in person the day of the poll, as long as they arrive early.

Hawaii Democratic Party Chairwoman Stephanie Ohigashi emphasized that the party welcomes members who will uphold the party’s principles, constitution and bylaws, as the enrollment form requires. New members must certify that they are not members of any other political party in Hawaii, she said.

“They make that pledge. We’re trusting that people have a conscience … and really want to participate fully with the Democratic Party if they sign up. This person would be lying and that’s not right,” she said.

Likewise, Andrew Walden, chairman of the Hawaii Republican Presidential Caucus Committee, said, “The Hawaii Republican Party discourages Republicans from interfering in the Democratic Preference Poll. A voter should not be a member of both the Republican and Democratic party.”

Walden also noted that “because the state of Hawaii does not record party affiliation, there are many voters who regularly vote Republican and regard themselves as ‘registered Republicans’ but are not on the Hawaii Republican Party membership rolls. Over 15,000 Hawaii voters filled out Hawaii Republican Party membership cards at our March 8 Presidential Caucus. (Donald Trump won.) We encourage all Hawaii Republican voters to officially join the Hawaii Republican Party at GOPHawaii.com and work together for a multiparty democracy in Hawaii.”

Colin Moore, director of the Public Policy Center at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, also said your query raises ethical concerns. “Certainly people can change allegiances, but if they’re being honest they would declare themselves a member of one party or another but not both. These are very different parties.”

One last thing: Hawaii Democrats call their event a poll because, unlike at a caucus, the voting is by secret ballot.

Q: Back during the same-sex marriage debate, there were predictions about how many marriages there would be and how many same-sex couples would come here to get married. Is anybody keeping track of the actual numbers?

A: Yes, the state Department of Health’s Office of Health Status Monitoring compiles marriage data as part of the state’s vital statistics. Preliminary data from Dec. 2, 2013 (the day same-sex marriage became legal in Hawaii), through Dec. 31, 2015, shows that 4,897 of 50,019 marriages involved same-sex couples, or just under 10 percent of the total.

Of the 45,122 opposite-sex marriages, 29,295, or 64.9 percent, included at least one person not from Hawaii (the bride, groom or both). Of the same-sex couples, 3,331, or 68 percent, included at least one nonresident.

The 533 same-sex marriages in December 2013 likely reflected pent-up demand, as the statewide monthly totals have fluctuated between 110 and 288 since then.

Most weddings occurred on Oahu, which was the site of 2,293 same-sex marriages and 22,883 opposite-sex ones during the reporting period.

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