A steady stream of voters came to the West Hawaii Civic Center, where a few voting options were provided to people for Saturday’s primary election.
Voters could drop off a ballot they received at an official drop-box, drop it off to election officials at the door, and vote in-person either through a computer or by paper. People also came to register and vote at the center.
All those options were on display at a busy but not crowded Voting Service Center established at the county building around lunch time. Ambi Diggins from Kealakekua dropped by the West Hawaii Civic Center to drop-off her ballot into the drop-box outside.
“I missed the deadline to mail my ballot,” Diggins said, saying it was easiest to simply drop off the ballot in-person.
Gary Akau, from Kona, came to the West Hawaii Civic Center because he was unable to register online.
“I came here to register in person and needed some help to do so,” Akau said. “They were very good and very helpful here; the process what quicker than I expected,” he added.
Another Kona man, who didn’t wish to be identified, said the process was easy.
“I forgot my ballot envelope at home, but there was nothing to it and the process was very easy. I was in and out in five minutes.”
Kristi Carvalho, County Clerk 3 for Hawaii County, said voting was going smoothly Saturday, even with some minor changes since last election.
“We’ve had good turn-out which is comparable to the last primary,” Carvalho said, adding that overall things were slow and steady, and not nearly as busy as they were for the last general election which included a presidential race nearly two years ago. “We have new machines in place this year, and now voters have the option to vote electronically or on paper here.”
Carvalho said that that voters coming in-person are split evenly, with half voting electronically and half using the paper method. And even with in-person voting an option at this facility today, more people are coming by to simply drop-off their completed ballots in the box.
“Yesterday, we had about 170 voters stop by inside but had 220 votes collected outside,” Carvalho said.
Carvalho had her father, Matsui Uehara, volunteer to help outside the Voter Service Center on Saturday.
“Two years ago, there was a long line to vote, but today it’s just slow and steady,” Uehara said.
While the process was smooth, with most voters able to process their paperwork and vote in less than 5 minutes over the 11 a.m. hour, not everyone was pleased with the process Hawaii votes. One man from Waimea, who wouldn’t disclose his name, said he hates the process.
“I hate it; I can’t stand mail-in; it just feels like I’m not participating in the process. I’ve been voting for over 50 years, and I don’t feel like I’m part of the process,” he said.
A woman who joined him to vote agreed, adding, “I don’t feel like I’m part of the democratic process. There is so much room for mail-in error.”
“It’s a good thing Costco is nearby,” the Waimea man said, adding it was a hassle to drive down from Waimea, almost an hour away, to vote. By being able to fold in other errands, the trip was somewhat more tolerable. The Waimea man also felt uncomfortable with the process.
“In past elections, I could show up on election day, show my driver’s license, and vote. Now I had to fill out a form to vote and I didn’t feel as anonymous as I should have been,” he said.
Elisa Rabara said she isn’t comfortable with the mail-in process either, adding that mail will occasionally get lost. However, that didn’t stop her from coming out with Joey Kaeka and her two children, ages 7 and 10, to vote. Kaeka said the process was “quick, easy, and not too complicated.” Agreeing to Rabara’s concern over ballots being mishandled in the mail, Kaeka said, “I’d rather be at a physical place and vote in-person.”
Rabara and Kaeka voted electronically in the Voting Service Center, with the children actively engaged in the process. Rabara said, “This is a good experience for the kids. They see signs around town for Auntie Vicky and BJ Penn and they can see first-hand how the process wraps-up.”
County Clerk Jon Henricks, overseeing operations at the Hilo voter service center at Aupuni Center, described a similar scenario in Hilo. There’s a lot of interest in voting in person, but others come in to drop off their ballots, register to vote, or update their registration after changing addresses, he said.
“I’d call it a steady stream of people all day,” Henricks said. “There were people standing in line when we opened up this morning.”
