Hawaii Voter Turnout Surpasses Primary Numbers
But general election ballot numbers are far below the 2020 presidential election.
Rainy weather on the Big Island Monday threatened to dampen voters from going to the polls.
But as of late Friday, the number of ballots cast in the Hawaii County general election already exceed the primary turnout in August.
A total of 60,072 ballots had been received by county election officials, nearly 10,000 more than in the primary.
Turnout was also up in the other three counties, ensuring that the total 401,498 votes cast statewide will easily surpass the 271,345 on Aug. 10 鈥 the lowest turnout in the state鈥檚 65-year existence.
That figure is still way lower than the record 579,784 who voted in Hawaii鈥檚 last presidential election, in 2020.
Enthusiasm was so great during that election that local results were not announced until several hours after the 7 p.m. deadline to vote. Lots of people were still waiting to vote, and state law requires that they be allowed to.
The lower turnout for the 2024 elections may also have to do with the fact that there were not many marquee races on the ballot.
Dozens of of Democratic and Republican state House and Senate incumbents had no primary contest and automatically advanced to the Nov. 5 general election. The races for mayor, prosecutor and five Honolulu City Council seats were settled Aug. 10, leaving Oahu voters with no one to vote for at the county level.
Still, there are competitive races for the county councils on Hawaii, Maui and Kauai as well as the spirited Hawaii County mayor鈥檚 matchup. And there are two statewide constitutional amendment questions, competitions for seats on the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees and charter amendment questions for each of the four counties.
If current trends hold, in-person voting will amount to just a fraction of all voting, with voters clearly favoring mailing in or dropping off their ballots.
On the Big Island, chief clerk Jon Henricks said officials are confident that appropriate procedures and protocols are in place, even with the inclement weather, and that staff is trained and the equipment is working well.
Voter service centers and drop boxes remain open thorough 7 p.m. Election Day. Click here for information .
On Maui County, which includes Maui, Lanai and Molokai, officials said they were preparing for long lines on Election Day. A total of 47,336 ballots had been received as of Monday evening, a significant increase over the 29,026 for the primary.
鈥淚t looks very encouraging,鈥 said Deputy County Clerk Richelle Thomson, who described business at a voter service center in Wailuku as 鈥渁bsolutely steady all day.鈥
Tuesday could be a different story, however.
鈥淧eople voting in person should be prepared for long waits, to bring water and snacks and possibly a chair,鈥 she said.
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Turnout numbers based on in-person voting and mailed or drop-box ballots are also up on Kauai and Oahu. Returned ballots on Kauai numbered 18,074 as of Saturday evening, up from the 14,721 total cast in the primary.
For the City and County of Honolulu, the total received as of Monday evening was 276,016 鈥 a big jump from the 177,108 that came for the primary.
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When To Expect Results
On election night, when the last voter service centers are confirmed closed, the Hawaii Office of Elections will release the first batch of results.
The report, which could come as early as 7 p.m. should include voted ballots received and counted through Saturday as well as from voter service centers that closed before Election Day.
At 10:30 p.m. a second report is expected that should include all voter service center ballots. It may also include any additional mail ballots counted between the first two reports.
The last Election Day report is expected around 1 p.m. Wednesday and will include all ballots validated by the County Elections Division that were received by the Election Day deadline.
A final report will come the evening of Nov. 13 and will include ballots that required additional verification by the County Elections Division.
The report also follows the 4:30 p.m. deadline that same day for voters to 鈥渃ure or fix any signature issues with their return envelope.”
All election results .
