1.) All-mail voting and lack of enough Voter Service Centers
This was the first all-mail primary election in Hawaii.
The plan to have it done all by mail was already approved last year before the coronavirus crisis made the "vote by mail" idea even more appealing to a public that wants to avoid crowded places.
I wasn't a fan of the all-mail elections as mentioned in previous blog posts
https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2012/11/an-all-mail-election-is-dangerous.html
https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2019/04/letter-to-editor-no-chance-to-fix.html
https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2020/05/thoughts-on-coronavirus-crisis-part-5.html (go to section 2 of that post)
I thought the idea that an all-mail election would boost voter turnout was going to be proven wrong. It turns out I was proven wrong on that point.
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/08/08/breaking-news/hawaii-voters-crush-turn-out-records-as-mail-in-balloting-proves-popular-during-pandemic/
Skeptics of Hawaii’s first large-scale effort at mail-in voting were proven wrong Saturday night as island voters destroyed all previous records for the number of ballots cast in a primary election.
But I was proven even more correct than I thought in the challenges that came with all-mail voting.
This article from Honolulu Civil Beat mentioned those problems with all-mail voting
https://www.civilbeat.org/2020/07/is-hawaii-ready-to-vote-by-mail/
While the vast majority of voters will have easy access to ballots that come right to their mailboxes, in most rural communities, not having a mailbox is the norm, according to Barbara Dalton, a former postmaster for the Kau region in the southern part of Hawaii island.
Most residents instead get their mail through post office boxes, which often have long waitlists. Residents could also pitch their own mailbox and request delivery or rent a box from a private mail service on the island.
“Those are pricey though,” Dalton warns. “And economically, a lot of people can’t afford that in a lot of these communities.”
On Hawaii island, those communities are also the farthest from the two voter service centers. It’s just over a 90-minute drive to get from Naalehu at the Big Island’s southern point to the voter service center in Kona.
Yes, the voter service centers, where people can come if they need to help fill out ballots correctly. They used to be open in every precinct every Election Day. But now they're in only 2 locations on most islands.
more from the article
“Constituents in rural areas with poor mail access, houseless individuals, those with disabilities and constituents needing language assistance benefit from safe and healthy in-person voting options,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter, penned by Rep. Joy San Buenaventura and signed by 10 other legislators.“Hours of travel just to reach one of two planned VSCs [voter service centers] puts a burden on our kupuna.”
and this
Ma, of Common Cause, has concerns over how residents in rural areas, both on Oahu and the neighbor islands, can engage with the voting process. She’s also worried about disabled populations or those needing special language assistance.“For these segments of the population where it’s not easy access to a mailbox and it’s difficult to drive into town, and people don’t often drive into town where voter service centers are located, it creates a real hardship to exercise your constitutional right to vote,” she said.
If you read my previous blog posts about elections, I'm going to sound like a broken record, but I have to keep saying this: as a former precinct official that work on Election Days in the past, there are PLENTY of people who need assistance with something that looks so simple as filling out a ballot!
This is why I'm in favor of opening up even MORE voter service centers.
On Oahu, there was only Honolulu Hale and Kapolei Hale. That doesn't work well with voters who live in Wahiawa, North Shore, or the Windward side.
That's not good enough, and that needs to change soon!
2.) Career Politicians
Hawaii has long been notorious for electing the same politicians year-in and year-out. The two Dan's (Akaka and Inouye) served until their late 80's. Both Inouye and Patsy Mink died while holding elected office long after most of their peers retired.
Some of the legislative offices had incumbents who ran unopposed. That was the case for my district, where the state senate and house district had only the incumbent running.
However, there was major hope for those who want new people in office.
In the Big Island, current mayor Harry Kim was a distant 3rd. He's done! He's been there for decades. While he will definitely be remembered for his legacy and decades of service, people felt it was time for him to move on.
For the mayor of City & County of Honolulu, Kirk Caldwell couldn't run again. The choices included career politicians (Mufi Hanneman & Colleen Hanabusa) and business executives who never held political office (Keith Amemiya and Rick Blangiardi).
The people chose the business executives.
In the debates, Mufi Hanneman tried to bait Amemiya and Blangiardi with questions about obscure details about the city budget. It turns out the public wasn't interested in any of that! They just wanted people with a fresh perspective instead of the same-old, same-old.
As far as I'm concerned, Hanneman should just stick with working in the tourism industry like he did in the last few years. It's a better fit for him. Hanabusa could still make a good living as a lawyer like she did before holding political office.
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As for Honolulu Prosecutor's office, it's also time for new people. Dwight Nadamoto was basically a place-holder since former prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro is under investigation. He's done.
The top 3 vote-getters were Steve Alm, Megan Kau, and Jacquie Esser. Steve Alm was a former judge and federal attorney most famous for this HOPE probation program for low-level drug offenders. Megan Kau is one of those prosecutors who is like a hammer who thinks everything is a nail. She wants to punish every little sin, no matter how minor. Jacquie Esser was the total opposite, she doesn't want to prosecute most nonviolent crimes and is a strong believer in alternatives to incarceration.
Steve Alm was the favorite but didn't get the 50% plus one threshold. Though Jacquie Esser had some momentum as a progressive activist in the era where people are looking for alternatives to policing and incarceration, there are still many people who want more toughness towards criminals and therefore support Megan Kau. Being that Esser not going to the general, I think her supporters will choose Alm over Kau in the general.
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In the state legislature, Romy Cachola & Tom Brower are done! They're too polarizing.
3.) Ballots came early
One last note, during this summer, I was working as a temp at the facility that printed the ballots. I was one of the ballot inspectors who made sure the ballots had no errors.
We finished so ahead of schedule, which was why the ballots were sent out to the voters earlier than expected.
This disappointed some candidates who scheduled last-minute advertising. Sorry.
