Upset win will make OHA interesting to watch

One of the big surprises of this election (locally, that is) was the upset win of Keli‘i Akina for a seat on the Office of Hawaiian Affairs board of trustees. Akina is president, CEO and chief policy director for the nonprofit Grassroot Institute, which has sat on the opposite side of OHA on some issues. Akina emphasizes on his campaign website that he and the organization recognize “the legally protected status of Hawaiian entitlements.”

But Akina says OHA should “stay out of the business of Hawaiian nationhood.” It will be interesting to sit in on OHA board meetings now.

Casting around for low-voter turnout reasons

It’s a bit confounding why folks will take the time to register to vote — but then not vote when it’s election time.

News was encouraging when Hawaii hit a record-setting 749,917 registered voters — but alas, when the general election came, only 55 percent of them actually voted. That’s disheartening, especially in a once-in-four-years election when voters get to choose their president and their mayor.

There’s a bunch of research that analyzes voters, nonvoters, habits and motivations. For instance, one intriguing study (in the January 2014 American Journal of Political Science) found that while Election Day registration positively affects turnout, the most popular election-law reform — early voting — is actually linked to lower turnout when implemented by itself.