Hawaii County hasn’t had a chief election officer since longtime Elections Division Administrator Pat Nakamoto retired Dec. 31.
But County Clerk Jon Henricks is confident the office is ready to handle the upcoming primary election, thanks to dedicated staff and a host of community volunteers coming forward to help conduct and monitor the election. He said the county is currently undergoing the civil service process required to hire an administrator and there’s no set timeline for a permanent hire.
“Our County Elections Division is working hard each day to ensure that our 2022 primary and general elections are conducted by the letter of the law, which in its broadest sense requires that our elections are accessible, secure, and transparent,” Henricks said Thursday.
New this election are features allowing voters to get a preview of their blank ballots before they arrive in the mail, and the chance to sign up for text, voice or email alerts about the status of their voted ballots.
The new features may be especially important this year, when the decennial reapportionment and redistricting process has put some voters — and some candidates — into different districts and put all seats in the state Legislature on the ballot, instead of the staggered terms the Senate usually experiences.
Ballot tracking has also become more popular with some national and local candidates trying to sow doubt about the integrity of the election process.
Hawaii went to all-mail balloting in 2020, with all registered voters receiving their ballots by mail. Ballot dropoff sites and voter service centers where those disinclined to go the mail route can vote in person are provided on each island.
Voters will start receiving their ballots July 26, according to state elections officials. In the meantime, voters, for the first time, can see their blank ballots before they’re mailed by visiting https://elections.hawaii.gov/ and clicking on the “View My Ballot” tab at the right.
Also on the elections site, there’s a “Sign up for ballot tracking alerts” tab.
Voter service centers open Aug. 1 and close after the last person in line at 7 p.m. Aug. 13 has voted. Hawaii Island’s voter service centers are at the West Hawaii Civic Center in Kailua-Kona and the Aupuni Center in Hilo. They’re open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 13.
Drop-off sites, known in election vernacular as “place of deposit,” are open 24 hours a day starting July 22. They’re located at the county building in Hilo, the Naalehu police station, Pahoa police station, Rodney Yano Hall in Captain Cook, Waikoloa Community Association and Waimea police station. Ballots can also be dropped off at the voter service centers.
Long lines and late poll closing characterized Hawaii’s 2020 elections, when the first all-mail balloting coincided with the coronavirus pandemic. It’s not known whether polling places will be similarly inundated this election, with no presidential race on the ballot.
Chief Elections Officer Scott Nago, in a Zoom meeting earlier this week with reporters, said too many variables are at play to make a prediction.
“We’ll let the pundits figure that out,” Nago said.
Henricks, meanwhile, has nothing but praise for the volunteers who come out every election to help make it run more smoothly.
“We simply cannot conduct a successful and viable election without the community stepping up and stepping into these critical roles. The way we vote may have changed with the implementation of Vote by Mail, but our need for community engagement remains,” Henricks said. “Mahalo to all of our many workers, observers, and watchers.”