Voters finally
get their say
Families turn out at the polls
for 'one of the most exciting
elections in years'
General Election Guide
By Helen Altonn
Star-BulletinHeated general election campaigns about issues and candidates ended today with Hawaii voters streaming to the polls to have the final say.
Brisk voting was reported statewide and the new balloting system apparently was working much better than in the primary election, when machines jammed. Some isolated problems were reported, however.
A few Kauai precincts were having trouble feeding the OHA ballots into the machine, said County Clerk Bunji Shimomura.
"It's been jamming a little bit. Maybe because the paper is a little thinner than the regular ballots," he said.
Dozens of people were waiting at polling places across the state when they opened at 7 a.m. Polls close at 6 p.m.
"It's one of the most exciting elections in years," said Dr. Neal Tamura, voting at Central Union Church. "We really had choices in candidates and real important issues to decide."
The statewide turnout as of 9 a.m. was 14.09 percent of registered voters -- the same as 1996. Turnouts for the same period were 16.29 percent in 1994 and 17.13 percent in 1992. But in 1996, voters who didn't vote in the previous election had not been deleted from registration files, thus lowering the percentage.
For some, voting was a family affair.The first two voters at Central Union Church were kindergartener Wayden Chu and his sister Wendianne Chu, a seventh-grader, there with their parents to participate in Kids Voting Hawaii.
They knew the parties and the issues, said Larry Miwa, Kids Voting precinct captain at the church. "It's a lesson in democracy."
Erika Nelson, 8, and her sister, Denise, an eighth-grader, both Maryknoll School students, proudly displayed cards showing they voted in the Kids Voting program while their parents, June and Andy Nelson, were voting.
Because of the children, June Nelson said, "We got more into it ... A lot of information was out there for voters this year ... I'm glad it's going to be over though. I'm tired of phone calls in the middle of dinner."
Some voters said they were confused by conflicting information on the Constitutional amendment that would allow the Legislature to ban same-sex marriage.
Kevin Akana arrived at about 6:30 a.m. at the Aina Haina Community Center, wanting to vote early so he could get to his business, Akana Trucking.
"I'm here right now and I can't make a decision (on the constitutional amendment)," he said.
But he had no doubts about the governor's race: "Cayetano," he said.
"I have changed sides so often on the governor's side, it's incredible," said Lindsay Oyama, 48, at the Aina Haina Community Center.
"I'm not normally like this, but I'm pretty sure today, I think."
Jack and Carol Smyth said they did a lot of research, debated and read the voter guide to learn the issues.
Jack Smyth said incumbent Ben Cayetano probably would win the governor's race. "But it's good to have this competition, instead of saying it's a runaway situation."
He gave credit to GOP candidate Linda Lingle for her campaign and drawing out greater numbers of voters. His wife said, "This helps to make sure there is a two-party system."
Roosevelt High School was having machine problems when Heidi Berman, 47, arrived at 7:15 a.m. expecting to cast her vote. She returned at 8:15 a.m. and was told they had fixed the problem.
As she came out of the voting booth, the precinct chairman took her ballot, unsheathed it and hand fed it into the machine, repeating "I'm not looking, I'm not looking," Berman said. "But she was surrounded by a group of people hovering over her."
Berman feared her exposed vote would be discounted.
"It's unethical and leaving all the votes open to challenge," she said. "I don't think she understands the process involves privacy."
But the state Chief Elections Officer Dwayne Yoshina said Berman's vote will indeed be counted.
The Elections Office received the complaint and advised the precinct chairman to use the sheath as a cover to the ballot, protecting votes cast.
"That's not right," Yoshina said. "As soon as we found out about it we called the precinct and advised the chair to cease taking it out of the sleeve."
The problem was cleared up within an hour, Yoshina said.
Berman was told no one at the Roosevelt precinct tested the machines that morning before operating them. The precinct chairman told Yoshina the ballots were jamming in the machine.
In Aina Haina, Kalani High School sophomores Soo Jung, Bondy Lam and Jenny Chung were participating in Kids Voting Hawaii by voting for Lingle.
"I'm a Democrat," Soo said, "but we gave him (Cayetano) a chance. He disappointed us. And I'm going to vote for 'yes' on the constitutional amendment."
"Of course," Chung added.
On the Big Island, elections officials reported the process going well at mid-morning, with no problems with machines.
Although the primary turnout was only 51 percent, County Clerk Donald Ikeda estimated 71 percent of the island's 77,822 voters would turn out today, sparked by controversy over a proposed fruit irradiator as well as the governor's race and the same-sex marriage issue.
On Kauai, Shimomura said twice the number of trouble-shooters were standing by to deal with any problems.
Donald Watkins, a precinct official at the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall in Lihue said he thinks early turnout has been higher than in previous years.
"That Kids Vote thing has really made an impact. The parents are coming out in droves," he said.
In central Maui, voting appeared to be brisk, more active than the primary.
"We've had a steady stream. The booths have been full ever since we opened at 7 a.m.," said Bonnie J. Cobb., precinct chairwoman at Wailuku Elementary School.
Fay F. Jacinto, a precinct chairwoman at Wailuku Community Center, said voting has been as steady as in the primary.
Star-Bulletin reporters Lori Tighe, Gary Kubota, Trish Moore and Rod Thompson contributed to this report.
Some voters are still
By Craig Gima
undecided, but are out early
and eager to cast votes
and Helen Altonn
Star-BulletinAs a full moon gave way to a clear bright morning today, dozens of voters waited for polling places to open at 7 a.m., still cloudy on the issues.
"I have changed sides so often on the governor's side, it's incredible," said Lindsay Oyama, 48, at the Aina Haina Community Center.
"I'm not normally like this, but I'm pretty sure today, I think."
Kevin Akana was the first in line at the center just after 6:30 a.m. He wanted to vote early to get to his business, Akana Trucking.
"I'm here right now and I can't make a decision," he said, describing his confusion over the Constitutional amendment that would allow the Legislature to ban same-sex marriage. But he had no doubts about the governor's race: "Cayetano," he said.
Jack and Carol Smyth said they did a lot of research, debated and read the voter guide to learn the issues.
Jack Smyth said incumbent Gov. Ben Cayetano probably would win the governor's race. "But it's good to have this competition, instead of saying it's a runaway situation."
He gave credit to GOP candidate Linda Lingle for her campaign and drawing out greater numbers of voters. His wife said, "This helps to make sure there is a two-party system."
Before the polls even opened today, what's believed to be a record number of people cast ballots through absentee voting.
Statewide since Saturday, more than 64,500 people mailed in absentee ballots or voted at walk-in absentee voting sites, a 14 percent increase from the general election in 1996 when 56,532 people voted absentee.
The number of absentee voters will grow by the time votes are counted tonight as more ballots arrive in the mail and are dropped off at polling places.
Absentee voters so far account for about 10.7 percent of the record 601,404 registered voters in Hawaii. There are 112,515 more registered voters for this election than in the last governor's election in 1994, a 23 percent increase.
"The increase in absentee voting is relative to the increased numbers of registered voters," said Genny Wong, Honolulu city clerk. "I guess there's just a lot of interest in the races and issues on the ballot."
On Oahu, 13,700 voters cast walk-in absentee ballots and 27,000 mail-in ballots of the 35,800 requested have been returned.
Both Gov. Ben Cayetano and Maui Mayor Linda Lingle's campaigns had hoped that the high number of absentee voters would mean a high turnout on election day.
Both campaigns mounted extensive efforts to get out the vote that included absentee voter drives.
"We've been urging people to vote absentee, especially our senior citizens and those we know who work on Tuesday, because we want to see a high voter turnout," said Ann Kobayashi, a co-campaign chairwoman for the Cayetano campaign.
"We just believe the more people who go to the polls, the more likely it's going to be to get all of the Lingle supporters out," said Kitty Lagareta, a Lingle campaign spokeswoman.
The state Office of Elections is hoping for a turnout similar to 1994, when about 70 percent of registered voters actually cast ballots.
Besides the governor's race, contests for mayor on Kauai and Maui, the same-sex marriage and constitutional convention questions and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs election are expected to bring voters to the polls.
Of the four counties, Kauai has been seeing the largest increases in absentee voting.
On Kauai, the absentee vote accounted for 27 percent of the total turnout in the primary election.
"A lot of the candidates are pushing for it (absentee voting)," said Charles "Bunji" Shimomura, Kauai County clerk. "Kauai has traditionally been a grass-roots type of politics. Candidates push their workers to vote early so they can hold signs on election day."
Absentee voting surges
By Craig Gima
14% over 1996 figures
Star-BulletinBefore the polls even opened today, what's believed to be a record number of people cast ballots through absentee voting.
Statewide since Saturday, more than 64,500 people mailed in absentee ballots or voted at walk-in absentee voting sites, a 14 percent increase from the general election in 1996 when 56,532 people voted absentee.
The number of absentee voters will grow by the time votes are counted tonight as more ballots arrive in the mail and are dropped off at polling places.
Absentee voters so far account for about 10.7 percent of the record 601,404 registered voters in Hawaii.
There are 112,515 more registered voters for this election than for the last governor's election in 1994, a 23 percent increase.
"The increase in absentee voting is relative to the increased numbers of registered voters," said Genny Wong, Honolulu city clerk.
"I guess there's just a lot of interest in the races and issues on the ballot," she said.
On Oahu, 13,700 voters cast walk-in absentee ballots, and 27,000 mail-in ballots of the 35,800 requested have been returned.
Both Gov. Ben Cayetano and Maui Mayor Linda Lingle's campaigns had hoped that the high number of absentee voters would mean a high turnout on election day.
Both campaigns mounted extensive efforts to get out the vote that included absentee voter drives.
"We've been urging people to vote absentee, especially our senior citizens and those we know who work on Tuesday, because we want to see a high voter turnout," said Ann Kobayashi, a co-campaign chairwoman for the Cayetano campaign.
"We just believe the more people who go to the polls, the more likely it's going to be to get all of the Lingle supporters out," said Kitty Lagareta, a Lingle campaign spokeswoman.
The state Office of Elections is hoping for a turnout similar to 1994, when about 70 percent of registered voters actually cast ballots.
Besides the governor's race, contests for mayor on Kauai and Maui, the same-sex marriage and constitutional convention questions and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs election are expected to bring voters to the polls.
Of the four counties, Kauai has been seeing the largest increases in absentee voting.
On Kauai, the absentee vote accounted for 27 percent of the total turnout in the primary election.
"A lot of the candidates are pushing for it (absentee voting)," said Charles "Bunji" Shimomura, Kauai County clerk.
"Kauai has traditionally been a grass-roots type of politics. Candidates push their workers to vote early so they can hold signs on election day," he said.
