No excuse for ballot shortage snafu

The hope for a rebound in Hawaii’s dismal voter participation rate was dealt a blow on election night and, as it turns out, it was a self-inflicted wound.

Tuesday’s exercise in democracy for many Oahu voters became an exercise in frustration, as workers at dozens of polling stations around the island discovered their ballot stock was running low. At 20 stations, the ballots ran out, forcing voters into long waits, into the night, while the state Office of Elections struggled to replenish them.

Eventually all voters who persisted got to cast either a paper ballot or a virtual one at the very few electronic voting booths dispatched to the polling places.

Scott Nago, chief elections officer, said his agency will prevent this in the future. Among the options under consideration: simply allotting enough for each precinct’s registered voters at the polling stations; and stationing more reserve ballots at regional staging areas in the field, making replenishment a quicker operation.

Voters deserve prompt action to reform this shoddy process. Otherwise, an all-mail-ballot system is looking better all the time.