Voting changes prompt education

By Shayna Coleon and Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Staff Writers

New polling places have been assigned to nearly 30 percent of voters state-wide, so state elections officials trying to head off voter confusion began mailing out 650,000 yellow registration cards this week.

By mid-July, all registered voters should receive a card with information on where they are assigned to vote in the Sept. 21 primary and Nov. 5 general election.

Normally, people vote at the same school or civic center from election to election. But every 10 years the state redraws political boundaries to account for population shifts, and that affects voters as well as politicians.

Rex Quidilla, spokesman for the Office of Elections, yesterday said officials are worried that voters may head to the wrong precinct if they don't pay attention.

"Voters are creature of habit, so we're trying to raise awareness about the changes," Quidilla said.

The state elections office has initially estimated about 28.5 percent of the state's 560,000 "active" voters — people on the voter rolls, minus those who have moved away or otherwise are not able to vote — will be voting at someplace new, but officials are finalizing those figures.

"I would say that we're looking at a fairly large percentage of active voters who will be affected," Quidilla said. "The polling places may change because of redistricting, or maybe in some rare cases, the facility they usually use for voting may not be available this year."

Also adding to the confusion, 26 polling places will not be used this year because of scheduling conflicts and renovations, Quidilla said.

Jane Aoki, a member of the Hawai'i League of Women Voters, said the organization is concerned that voters not aware of the changes may not vote if they show up at the wrong precinct. A recent U.S. Census report found Hawai'i's 2000 voter turnout of 44.1 percent of eligible voters was the lowest in the nation; Hawai'i also ranked near the bottom in voter registration.

"Many people will find themselves going to sites they are not familiar with, and unless they are committed voters, they will use it as an excuse not to vote," Aoki said. "Or, think about Election Day. People might look for their new polling place and when they can't find it, they give up."

But Larry Meacham of Common Cause Hawai'i said he believes hotly contested races for governor, and state House and Senate seats should bring out voters.

"This year with the governor's race, that's going to be a big fight," he said. "Everyone has to run for office (with) reapportionment ... so this is going to be a big year."

Correction: Benjamin Parker School, Jefferson School and Kahuku High and Intermediate School on O'ahu and the Lahaina Civic Center and Wailuku Community Center on Maui will be used as polling places in the 2002 elections. Because of an error by a news source, an earlier version of this story contained incorrect information.