ÌìÃÀÊÓƵ

Earlier this week, Tropical Storm Iselle threatened to deter Hawaii voters from going to the polls Saturday and potentiallyÌýdisrupt the state’s primary election.

The storm hardlyÌýhit the islands as intensely as some feared. But the better weather didn’t come with better-than-anticipatedÌývoter turnout numbers.

As of SundayÌýmorning, 41.4Ìýpercent — or 285,471Ìý— of Hawaii’s 688,778 registered voters statewideÌýcast ballots. The turnout was Ìý43.4 percent on Oahu, 37.6Ìýpercent on the Big Island, 32.2Ìýpercent in Maui County and 47 percent in Kauai County.

Election headquarters at the State Capitol on Saturday.

Alia Wong/Civil Beat

Turnout numbers are according to a final summary report that has not been certified by the Elections Office, but it appeared as though voter participation was down from past years.ÌýIn 2012, about cast ballots in the primary election. In 2010, the percentage was 43 percent.

That makes this year’s turnout one of the lowest the Aloha State has ever seen.ÌýThe lowest primary turnout in the state’s history was in 2008, when just of registered voters cast ballots.

This year’s electionÌýincludedÌýhistoric challenges to Democratic incumbents Gov. Neil Abercrombie and U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, as well as an open seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Ige won by a landslide, as did DemocraticÌýHouse contender Mark Takai. Schatz and his challenger, Colleen Hanabusa, were still locked in a close race Saturday night —ÌýÌý48.5 percent versus 47.8 percent, respectively.

The turnout numbers doÌýnot account for the voters in the Puna area on the Big Island who hadn’t cast their votes by mail. The state elections office, in consultation with the attorney general, canceled the voting atÌýHawaii Paradise Community Center and Keoneopoko Elementary SchoolÌýbecause Tropical Storm Iselle prompted the closure of roads in the region and left Puna isolated.

State Elections Chief Scott Nago saidÌýthat voting in the rescheduled election will be done by mail ballot.ÌýThe state officeÌýwill work closely with the Office of the County Clerk to set upÌýa timeline for ballots toÌýbe provided to voters in the affected polling places, he said.

Puna is home to 8,255 registered voters, although it was unclear how many had already cast mail ballots.

Elections spokesman Rex Quidilla said all other ballots are now in the counties’ possession, butÌýthat they’re still crunching the numbers.

The turnout numbers would change only minimally, if at all, once the Puna ballots are in, he said.

The preliminary turnout numbers suggest that mailÌývoting was strong, with about half of all voters — 53 percentÌý— casting absentee ballots. About half of all ballots were cast by mail in the 2012 primary, too.

As of Saturday night, 83 percent of the ballots had been cast in the Democratic primary.

Despite the lower turnout numbers, aÌýrecord number of people registered to vote in Hawaii this year.

The number of registered voters increased by 2 percent, from 684,481 people in 2010, when the governor’s seat was last open, to 688,778 people this year. The number of registered voters increased in all counties, with Hawaii and Kauai counties enjoying the largest increases: about 4 percent.

Requests for mail ballots also increased, from 142,556 in 2012 to 160,696 this year, a 12 percent jump.

Hawaii Turnout Always Low

Hawaii is consistently near the bottom when it comes to voter turnout.

Civil Beat’s “Hawaii’s Vanishing Voter” seriesÌýfound that various factors contribute to the dearth in turnout, including the lack of competition among candidates, strict voter registration policies and, perhaps most significantly, demographics.

The low primary turnout could also be because the elections always fall on Saturdays — the result of a 1970s law that was intended to urgeÌýmoreÌývoters to cast their ballots. Hawaii is theÌýonly stateÌýto hold Saturday primaries.

According to both theÌýÌýand local political pundits,Ìývoters tend to beÌýolder, more educated and wealthier than non-voters.

±á²¹·É²¹¾±¾±â€™sÌýÌýmeasures voter turnout as the percentage of registered voters who cast ballots.

A recordÌýÌýwent to the polls in 1960 general election, according toÌýdata fromÌýthe state elections office. That year marked the first time voters elected state officials and participated in a U.S. presidential election.

That ratio dropped over the years. In 2010, a gubernatorial year, only cast their ballots in the general election.

Read our live blog coverage of the primary below: