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Mail-in ballots for the Hawaii primary election have already started to arrive for some residents in advance of what was supposed to be a Tuesday launch date. And while the experience of an all-mail election may be new for some in the islands, this actually leaves us without any excuse for not stepping up in our civic duty.

I get it that Hawaii residents, historically, have busy lives and very little free time, because they either have exhausting occupations or work multiple jobs. That the ranks Hawaii as one of the most sleep-deprived states shows that time is of the absolute essence in the Aloha State. That’s fair enough reason for some who are overworked to possibly miss a primary or two.

In previous years, one had to plan in advance to vote in a primary — either by voting early, registering for an absentee mail-in ballot, or by requesting time off. It could reasonably be argued that for some, participation in a primary in previous years could be a little bit of a hardship, especially if they were juggling work, parenting, caregiving and any number of other life issues.

But in 2020, locals have no excuse for not participating in the primary election with an all-mail voting system. Residents have been given a political take-home exam that affords them ample time to carefully read the ballot, study each of the contested races, deliberate over their choices and even change their minds if necessary before casting a vote.

With a mail-in ballot, we have removed all of the time pressures of looking at crowded contests – such as the Honolulu mayor’s race, for example – and having to quickly make a knee-jerk decision before the long line of people waiting at the polling location behind you gets antsy or upset.

I once volunteered at an election site on the Windward side of Oahu, and I watched a local voter give up and quit on Election Day simply because there were no pens available. Another decided to bug out simply because the line was too long. Problems like these are completely eliminated now in Hawaii, and the only “pressure” that exists is the pressure to be a good citizen and mail your vote before the deadline.

The beauty of a mail-in ballot is that — like a take-home exam — you can start on it, take a break, fill out more of it later and use the benefit of time to make the best, most informed choices. And just as it is inexcusable not to get an “A” on a take-home exam, Hawaii voters should have no reason not to vote for the very best choices in this primary.

No longer should anyone have to randomly pick names from contests where no one is recognizable, either. With mail-in ballots, every person has time, even with a busy work schedule, to go on the internet and research candidate positions, visit campaign websites, compare response surveys or even read Civil Beat’s election guide to find out who best fits their worldview.

How To Do Your Voting Homework

As a conservative, I vehemently disagree with my peers who think mail-in voting is somehow bad. Even before Hawaii mandated mail-in voting, I’ve been voting absentee mail-in for years, and I’ve never had any complaints with the process. Mail-in ballots are the best because they give you time to think, and thinking is always good.

The strategy that I use with my ballot is I create a private markup sheet with all of the contests and I pencil in tentative votes for all the people that I support, as well as brief notes on candidates for comparison.

I then wait as long as possible to turn in my ballot so that it gives me time to track the issues and where the candidates stand on them, and if a candidate does something that is concerning, it gives me space to amend my vote before the deadline.

For crowded contests where candidates are very similar, I like to create a shortlist of priority policies that are important to me — not more than five — and I numerically score candidates based on how strongly they address each policy.

This year the priority policies influencing my vote are COVID-19 response, economy, crime, homelessness and government reform. I then use a colored pencil to draw a chart on my markup sheet to represent the scores, and whichever candidate has the best policy spread gets my vote. (You can also do this in Microsoft Excel if you’re lazy. And yes, I really do this.)

Hawaii residents need to stop being left behind by not participating in primaries. I’ve heard all the excuses not to vote, and none of them are valid now. Too busy? Then complete the ballot a couple of days at a time. Don’t know who to vote for? Go online and research it. Not inspired? Grab an energy drink or strong cup of coffee and push yourself to start filling out as much of the ballot as you are able to.

Every single one of you should take the time this week to ask your family, friends and co-workers a simple question: “Did you vote?” And until the answer you get is “yes,” keep asking them that question. It’s never been easier to vote in Hawaii, so let’s get the job done!