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Question: Have any potential intrusions into Hawaii’s voter-registration system been detected?
Q: Is the Hawaii elections office taking any extra steps to make sure that Hawaii’s voter system doesn’t get hacked?
Answer: No to the first question and yes to the second, said Nedielyn Bueno, voter services section head for Hawaii’s Office of Elections.
Amid national reports that hackers have intensely probed online voter-registration systems in more than 20 states, Kokua Line has received several questions from readers asking about the digital security of Hawaii’s election system.
The state Elections Office has enhanced its security safeguards, in keeping with advice to states from federal authorities. “We are in contact with the FBI and (the U.S. Department of) Homeland Security and are following those agencies’ recommendations,” Bueno said.
No intrusions into Hawaii’s voter-registration database have been detected, she said.
The federal government has focused more attention on state voting systems in the wake of confirmed digital intrusions in Arizona and Illinois, news website Politico reported Monday.
Hackers constantly test the digital defenses of every state’s public-facing election systems, it said, and in about 20 states those attempts have reached Homeland Security’s “threshold of some concern,” Politico reported. The attempted cyberattacks were thwarted — meaning no database was breached — but the onslaught is concerning, according to the Politico report.
Q: When will ballots be mailed out? We will be out of town around Election Day and want to make sure our vote counts.
A: Assuming that you have requested an absentee ballot, it will be mailed to you about 20 days before the election, according to the state Office of Elections. The general election is Nov. 8.
Talk about Handi-Van
Have a question, complaint or suggestion for TheHandi-Van? Here’s your chance to share it directly with the chief administrator of Oahu’s public transit service for people with disabilities who are unable to ride TheBus.
Charlotte L. Townsend, Paratransit Vice President of Oahu Transit Services, will be on hand Wednesday from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Waikiki Community Center, 310 Paoakalani Ave. The meeting is free and open to the public.
Townsend will answer questions and also discuss new equipment, software and computer applications designed to enhance the overall experience for TheHandi-Van passengers, whether they are signing up for the service, making a reservation for a ride or being picked up and dropped off.
Q: Is it legal now to park in a cul-de-sac?
A: No. Parking is prohibited in the turnaround area of a dead-end street, which is also known as a cul-de-sac. Garbage trucks need the space to maneuver, as do firetrucks and other emergency vehicles.
You can find the explicit prohibition in the Traffic Code of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu. Check Sect. 15-14.1(27) under the heading “Stopping, standing or parking prohibited in specific places — No signs required.” See 808ne.ws/nopark.
A violation may result in a $35 fine, according to the Honolulu Police Department.
Auwe
It’s bad enough when people who walk their dogs leave their mess along the sidewalk area, but auwe to the inconsiderate people who actually allow their dogs to defecate in other people’s front yards! That’s what’s happening on my street in Kailua. — Irritated
Mahalo
This is to Brett, who was like an angel to me when I got into a car accident on the H-1 near Vineyard Boulevard. You comforted me, prayed for me and kept me calm while waiting for the police and ambulance. I am on the mend now and will be fine. I will never forget your kindness that night. Thank you and may God bless you and keep you always. — Charlotte
Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
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