Hawaii faces a potentially serious disenfranchisement of voters.

Hawaii set Monday, Oct. 10, a national holiday, as the deadline to receive voter registrations.

People who think they are beating the deadline may find their registration forms rejected.

Mail-in forms must be postmarked by Oct. 10, but the U.S. Postal Service is not open to stamp the mail.

Mailed applications postmarked by Saturday, Oct. 8, will be accepted.

National media identified Hawaii and eight other states to be in violation of federal law on this point.

Since then, Arkansas and Washington extended their deadline to Oct. 11. Hawaii could do the same, but has shown no inclination to do so.

We offer several recommendations:

>> Register online or in person. County clerk offices will be open on Oct. 10.

>> Another option is late registration at early walk-in voting sites, from Oct. 25 to Nov. 5. Present necessary documentation and then vote.

For further information, see the state’s election website.

Erica Johnson,

Vice president, League of Women Voters of Hawaii County

Continuing with rail would be hopeless folly

Regarding the current debate about the off-course Honolulu heavy rail project: We are in this mess because of the actions and ideas of lots of folks for years and years.

The worst of them will never, ever be held accountable, including elected officials.

Here is the key question to ask: What kind of people can we get to lead and administer the program except the kind that we already have and have had?

We should dump the whole thing, swallow our losses and make this a time of learning about what not to do.

To do otherwise is hopeless folly and will be even more expensive in the long run.

Richard O. Rowland

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii

Use rail guideways for self-driving vehicles

Hawaii transportation officials need to look to the future and what the future will be with self-driving cars.

Despite the early safety problems of self-driving cars, they will be perfected and within five years will be mass-produced by all the major car manufacturers and available to us, the consumers. In fact, Uber is currently testing the use of self-driving taxis in Pittsburgh.

We should turn the rail into a roadway to be used only for self-driving cars. Make it inbound to Honolulu in the morning and outbound in the afternoon. Safe, quick and efficient.

Are our leaders willing to look to the future or bend to the developer money?

Bob Volkwein

Aiea

We can’t afford rail and now we talk of a ferry?

We are thinking of a ferry system again when we had the best service available with the Superferry (“Federal funds will help state conduct study on new ferries,” Star-Advertiser, Oct. 3).

We don’t have money for finishing the rail transit system and already the conversation comes up about a ferry.

Hawaii blew it once again and let one of the best interisland modes of transportation go.

Now the cost in airfare to the neighbor islands is almost $200 one way.

It is sad that our lawmakers think backward about a ferry service now.

It really makes me wonder who is getting paid off.

We don’t have money for finishing the rail but the feds will give us money for the ferry?

William Pirtle

Waipahu