Early walk-ins better than primary, less than 2016

Mayor, council, statewide races up for grabs today

Early walk-in voting turnout was lower for this year's general election than in 2016, according to the Maui County Clerk's Office.

From Oct. 23 through Saturday, when early walk-in voting ended, 4,167 voters cast ballots at the Velma McWayne Santos Community Center in Wailuku, while 492 people voted at the Mitchell Pauole Community Center in Kaunakakai.

This was less than the 2016 general election, when 4,513 early walk-in voters cast ballots in Wailuku and 613 voters cast ballots in Kaunakakai.

"Presidential election years always have a higher turnout than nonpresidential election years," Deputy County Clerk Josiah Nishita said Monday. "The presidential election years just tend to attract more voters."

Nishita said that the lower walk-in turnout also could be because 6,000 more people chose to vote by mail this year than in 2016.

However, early walk-in turnout was higher for this year's general election than during the primary, when 2,750 people cast their ballots early in Wailuku and 436 cast votes in Kaunakakai.

Nishita reminded voters that they can still drop off their mail-in ballots at any polling place on Election Day, regardless of home district, or at the Office of the County Clerk in the county building before 6 p.m. As of Saturday, the county clerk's office had mailed out 31,382 absentee mail-in ballots and received 19,302 back -- about 61.5 percent.

Polls open starting at 7 a.m. and close at 6 p.m., though anyone in line at closing time still will be allowed to vote. Residents can find their polling places at elections.hawaii.gov/voters/polling-places/ or by calling 453-VOTE (8683). The Office of Elections website also offers sample ballots.

Voters arriving at the polls should bring a form of identification which can include a valid photo ID, a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or other government-issued document that shows the person's name and address.

People still can register to vote on Election Day. They must be U.S. citizens, Hawaii residents and at least 18 years old.

"If they have to register for the first time or re-register because they moved or changed their name, they should expect some wait time at the polling place," Nishita added.

During the early walk-in period, 184 people registered to vote in the general election. During the primary election early walk-in period, 118 people registered. Nishita said there are now 96,721 registered voters in Maui County.

Throughout Election Day, residents can find live results online at elections.hawaii.gov/election-results/ as well as on the radio and TV.

The Maui News will be providing updates on its website, www.mauinews.com.

KAOI Radio, which broadcasts on 1110 AM, 96.7 FM, 98.7 FM and 96.5 FM westside, will offer national election coverage starting at 3 p.m. Coverage will start with the CBS Radio Network, followed by MSNBC as the polls close on the Mainland.

Local coverage will begin at 6 p.m. with hosts Cindy Paulos and Tom Blackburn-Rodriguez. Various candidates are scheduled to sit in during the broadcast.

Akaku Maui, meanwhile, will host a block party at its studios on 333 Dairy Road starting at 6 p.m. There will be large outdoor screens set up, as well as food and refreshments and a chance to meet the candidates. Akaku will also provide live coverage on Spectrum Channels 53, 54 and 55, as well as on KAKU 88.5 FM, akaku.org and the Akaku Facebook page.

Nishita said the first results usually come in around 6:30 p.m., depending on when all polls close statewide. For Maui County, the first report will likely reflect all votes cast at the Velma McWayne Santos Community Center and the Mitchell Pauole Community Center during the absentee walk-in voting period, as well as around three-fourths of all absentee mail-in ballots. The next reports usually follow at around 8:30 p.m., 10 p.m., 11:30 p.m. and, if necessary, 1 a.m.

Nishita reminded voters that the election isn't necessarily over once all 34 precincts have reported.

"Individuals may be confused when they see, for example, '34 of 34' reported for a council race, and think that the election is over," he said. "Those numbers indicate how many precincts have reported and are not indicative of how many ballots may still need to be counted, such as absentee mail-in ballots that have been dropped off at polling places (which include drop-offs on Molokai, Lanai and Hana that have to be flown back that night)."

During the Aug. 11 primary election, 34,105 out of 94,194 registered voters in Maui County cast ballots -- a turnout rate of 36.2 percent. Statewide, 286,180 out of 741,007 registered voters cast ballots -- a turnout rate of 38.6 percent.

In the 2016 general election, turnout was more than half statewide and in Maui County. Out of 93,912 registered voters in Maui County, 52,972 cast ballots, a turnout rate of 56.4 percent. Meanwhile, out of 749,917 registered voters statewide, 437,664 cast ballots, a turnout of 58.4 percent.

* Colleen Uechi can be reached at cuechi@mauinews.com.