Reinventing how we vote

More in Hawaii are voting early, changing election dynamics and political strategies

By Vicki Viotti

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Nov 04, 2012

~~<p>State Rep. Gene Ward has run campaigns over the span of two decades, and even though the Republican lawmaker is unopposed in the coming election, he's trying to help other GOP hopefuls and is watching carefully how things have changed. One thing he's noticed: Campaigns are now broken into two segments — the weeks and months before the early voting begins and then the final push before the final Election Day arrives.</p>
<p>"Now it's like a rolling election," said Ward, who represents the Hawaii Kai area. "That means there are two big ones: the front end and the back end. The new model favors the incumbent because name recognition is important on the front end. The known quantity wins the first election. It's much more difficult on the challenger."</p>
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State Rep. Gene Ward has run campaigns over the span of two decades, and even though the Republican lawmaker is unopposed in the coming election, he's trying to help other GOP hopefuls and is watching carefully how things have changed. One thing he's noticed: Campaigns are now broken into two segments — the weeks and months before the early voting begins and then the final push before the final Election Day arrives.

"Now it's like a rolling election," said Ward, who represents the Hawaii Kai area. "That means there are two big ones: the front end and the back end. The new model favors the incumbent because name recognition is important on the front end. The known quantity wins the first election. It's much more difficult on the challenger." Login for more...