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What will it take to get voters to vote?
What will it take to return Hawaii to the more respectable primary-voter turnout figures of yesteryear? More than a game-changing mayoral election and two open seats on Capitol Hill, it seems.
The 42.3 percent of voters who bothered to cast ballots represented an increase in enthusiasm over the 2008 primary, but that’s not saying much: Turnout was 36.9 percent then.
Almost half of them did so by voting early, sometimes by mailing it as an absentee. Maybe the secret is fixing it so voters can cast ballots entirely by mail or online. Can’t get more convenient — which seems to be the deciding factor in whether or not a ballot gets cast.
Nanakuli’s boys — and girls — did us proud
Nanakuli Little League’s loss in the Western regional final on Saturday was disappointing for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the unusual way it lost to Petaluma, of Northern California — an appeal play while the team was rallying in the sixth inning that resulted in a heartbreaking third out, thus ending the game.
Another reason for disappointment is that if Nanakuli had advanced to the 11-day Little World Series, which starts Thursday, it would have been the first team in the 66-year history of the series to have two female players (in Nanakuli’s case, both catchers).
Until now, 15 teams have played in the series at Williamsport, Pa., having one female as a member, but never has there been a team with two. Maybe next year.