Young people are organizing. From the Women’s March to the recent demonstrations in support of responsible gun regulations, today’s youth are demanding to be heard and clamoring for more avenues in which to amplify their voices.
In Hawaii, their energy is directed in large part toward increasing democratic participation. In the 2016 presidential election, the islands had the lowest percentage of voter turnout in the country at 43 percent, according to a report published by Nonprofit VOTE and the U.S. Elections Project. It was the fifth-consecutive presidential election Hawaii ranked last in the nation in voter turnout.
One way to increase civic engagement in the islands is to establish a vote-by-mail initiative, which would allow voters to mail in their ballots through the postal service, deposit them in secure drop-off boxes, or vote in-person at early voting centers or on Election Day. Mail-in voting, or “all mail voting,” would supplement, rather than supplant, traditional voting practices. Members of the electorate who value in-person voting may still cast ballots if they prefer.
Washington, Colorado, and Oregon already give eligible voters the option to vote by mail. Each of these states expanded voter participation to include young and rural voters, while boosting demographic representation among voters of different ethnic and economic backgrounds. At a time when government is often viewed as privileging wealthy racial majorities, millennials — like myself — urge legislators to enact measures that can restore balance to our democracy.
Yet, as the legislative session nears its end and vote-by-mail proposals are left on the table, democracy advocates wonder if elected officials will seize the moment to empower Hawaii’s voters. Voting is a constitutional right, one that should be convenient and accessible to all. Mail-in voting strengthens that right by making voting more convenient for key constituencies, including young people, military members, the working class, homebound seniors, and rural residents.
This issue is personal to me and critical to the community in which I live. State House District 5 runs from Kona to West Ka’u. It encompasses swaths of agricultural land, including the heart of Hawaii’s iconic Kona and Ka’u coffee industries. Many of the district’s residents live in high-poverty remote areas, like Ocean View, that lack basic infrastructure.
People living in rural Big Island communities deserve the same electoral opportunities as their more urbanized neighbors. If voting was more streamlined, their needs would be given more consideration by public officials, producing better schools, more affordable housing, greater agricultural investment, and higher quality health care options for their families.
Tomorrow’s leaders are tasked with fixing today’s problems. Political problems can only be solved when we, the people, are fully enfranchised. For today’s youth, no concern is more pressing than protecting our access to democracy. If we broaden that access, then more of Hawaii’s residents, of all ages, will begin to see government not as a barrier to progress and prosperity, but as a place to recommit to advancing the common good.
Jeanne Kapela is a currently running for office to represent State House District 5.