EDITORIAL
Today's special election to complete Mink's term

Voters from rural O'ahu and the Neighbor Islands, the 2nd Congressional District, go to the polls today to exercise their franchise in a highly unusual way:

Their sole purpose is to select, from a slate of 38 candidates, the person to represent them in the U.S. House of Representatives for the last five weeks of the late Rep. Patsy Mink's current term.

In a bid to save money, the state Office of Elections has cut the number of polling places roughly in half. A list of the open and closed polling places ran in yesterday's Advertiser.

Today's election, of course, is but a run-up for the more important election in January, when someone will be chosen to replace Mrs. Mink for the entirety of the new two-year term she won Nov. 5.

In an editorial Wednesday, The Advertiser endorsed Ed Case for today's election. He clearly captured the imagination and the hopes of Hawai'i in the just-completed campaign for governor, in which he nearly defeated a respected and well-prepared opponent, Mazie Hirono.

We believe Case is in tune with Hawa'i and its needs, both locally and nationally.

Case will also be running in the Jan. 4 election. There are a number of intriguing candidates in that race; we expect to hear a great deal of dialogue from these candidates in the coming weeks, and you should, too.

Meanwhile, in today's election, we recommend a vote for Ed Case.