More voters opting to avoid lines at polls this year

By Jan TenBruggencate

Elections officials say they expect more Hawai'i residents than ever to vote by mail this election.

State elections officials report that the number of requests for absentee ballots, which can be voted early and mailed in or hand-carried to polling places on election day, are running ahead of previous years.

For many people, it may simply be the convenience of not having to stand in line at the polling place, said Glen Takahashi, Honolulu's elections administrator. He said he anticipates double-digit growth in absentee voter numbers.

"From 1998 to 2000, we had a 33 percent increase in absentee voting, and I was expecting another 25 percent increase this year," he said.

A survey of the four counties found that effective yesterday there have been requests for absentee ballots totalling 17,500 on O'ahu, 1,800 on Maui, 1,520 on Kaua'i and 1,400 on the Big Island.

As a percentage of active voters — those voters whose addresses have been confirmed for the coming election — the O'ahu count is 4.7 percent of the total, Maui is 3 percent, Kaua'i is 5 percent and Hawai'i County is 2 percent.

The statewide absentee mail-in percentage is 4.2 percent. Because voters can continue to request absentee ballots through Sept. 13, these numbers also can be expected to rise.

Absentee ballots mailed back to the elections offices in the various counties are counted if they arrive by the last mail pickup on primary election day, Sept. 21. But some voters who wait until the last day to request absentee — particuarly if they're voting from the Mainland — may not get their ballots back in time to be counted, so it's most effective to vote early if you're voting absentee.

Voting officials eventually calculate two different kinds of voted ballots as absentee ballots — the mail-in absentee, and those ballots cast by people who show up at early-voting polling places, which are open the week before the election for those who can't make it to the polls on election day and aren't requesting a mailed ballot.

"Those are really early-voting, not absentee, but we count them together," said deputy state elections chief Rex Quidilla.

In 2000's primary, 7.8 percent of all votes cast were classified absentee ballots.

This year, elections officials expect the number to be higher and that may make the election run more smoothly.

Because of reapportionment, many voters will have new polling places, and can avoid confusion by voting by mail.

There are also more races than usual — a record 127 seats are up for election, with 410 candidates across the state running for them. Individual voters won't have to make anywhere near 127 selections, because most of those races are limited to certain islands and districts.

But voting could take more time than usual, and voting early might save the time a voter might have to spend standing in line. Either mail-in absentee voting or early-voting can also allow a voter to select a day when he or she has plenty of time to make selections.

"It is one of the benefits of absentee and walk-in voting, especially in the reapportionment year. It becomes a real option for voters," Quidilla said.

Takahashi said that he believes mail-in absentee voting is an addictive process, and that this may account for the steady increase in the numbers. Once people have avoided the lines and the rush of election day, many will continue making that choice, he said.

"It's one of those things where if a voter once votes by absentee ballot, they may never go back to the polls," he said.

Shirley Magarifuji, Maui County's elections administrator, said that she expects the Maui County primary-election numbers to be higher than last election, and she anticipates a further increase in the general election.

"We had reapportionment, and some people are not happy with the change in their voting places, and on Maui, we have a lot of charter amendments this year in the general election, so I expect the general-election absentee count to be even higher," Magarifuji said.

Hawai'i has had unrestricted absentee voting for a decade. Before that, you could only vote by mail if you were going to be off your island, had a medical excuse or other good reason.

Now, you don't need a reason, and elections officials encourage absentee voting.

"Open absentee voting started in 1992, when then-Lt. Gov. Cayetano did it by policy. The next election, it became law," Honolulu's Takahashi said.

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.