By Jerry Burris
Advertiser Editorial Editor

Hawai'i voters this year will have a historic opportunity unmatched since the early days of our years as a state.

Along with all the other decisions to be dealt with on Saturday's ballot, voters will have a chance to make selections that will lead to the election of every single seat in the state Legislature.

That hasn't happened in years, since state senate elections are normally staggered, with only half of the seats placed on the ballot in any given election. But because of reapportionment, every senate seat will be up this year — some for four-year terms, some for two.

Since the entire house is up for election, that means 76 seats are on the ballot.

This provides an unusual opportunity to change the tone and personality of the Legislature, from top to bottom. Or, if you're satisfied, it offers a chance to make sure nothing changes. It's up to you.

Most attention has focused, quite naturally, on the statewide races for governor and lieutenant governor. But the nitty gritty of public policy will take place in the trenches of the Legislature.

The old saying is that the governor can propose, but it is the Legislature that disposes. There's truth to that, even in years when the governor appears to be riding roughshod over a compliant Legislature.

So as you look toward Saturday's voting, take time to learn a little bit more about the folks who will run for the Senate and House from your district.

There are only eight races where the incumbent was elected outright including, oddly, the entire stretch of Honolulu from Kalihi through to 'Aiea, which encompasses four Senate districts held by Democrats.

That still leaves plenty of choices.

And how do you sort out these candidates, other than by deciding who has the prettiest brochure or most enthusiastic sign wavers?

One tool, which you should make use of, is the Voters Guide which will appear in tomorrow's Advertiser. This guide will give you a well-honed look at the candidates, their goals and their backgrounds. It will also offer a wealth of additional voter information.

For those interested in drilling a little deeper, check out The Advertiser's Voters Guide online, which will include hot links to candidate Web sites where they are available. Most candidates do have a Web site or at least an e-mail contact address.

Another useful site is the 'Olelo community television site — www.olelo.org — which has versions of its broadcast candidate profiles available for downloading if you are computer savvy enough.

The more you learn about the candidates, the more you will realize the importance of this vote. In the statehood election of 1959, when, coincidentally, all legislative seats also happened to be up for election, the voter turnout was 93 percent.

It has been widely predicted that the turnout this year will come nowhere close to those numbers. That's probably a fairly sound prediction.

But can we try?

Reach Jerry Burris at letters@honoluluadvertiser.com.