Rex Quidilla started off his career as a University of Hawaii graduate with a degree in journalism. He still likes keeping up with current events, but for the last several years he has witnessed an important part of it from a front-row seat.
After staff positions in elections oversight — first at the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, which once ran elections, and later with the state Office of Elections — he’s now elections administrator, a position in the Honolulu City Clerk’s Office.
Quidilla, 50, is married and the father of one grown son and one at 10 months. Family life, and plugging in to enjoy music as a favorite pastime, can provide respite from high-pressure work, especially leading up to the primary and general elections.
And over the years he has seen various things go wrong — ballots running out, long lines, poll-worker shortages, machines misfiring — but finds the work satisfying all the same.
“This very process, it engages the public,” he said. “It’s the one thing that we all share: getting together and selecting our leaders.
“And no matter who you are — the governor, or someone just trying to enjoy paradise — it’s one vote.… There’s something incredible to that.”
This year is the first for same-day registration. Gradually, the various impediments to voting have disintegrated, he said. He remembers the deadline for registration 30 days out from the election, the need to reapply annually for absentee ballots, the requirement to provide an excuse to gain the right to vote absentee.
“All of that that’s gone,” Quidilla said. “Short of actually not having voter registration and going to vote-by-mail, the Legislature has certainly passed laws to make the process more accessible and easier for them to accommodate the various special circumstances our citizens may face on busy Saturdays.
“Working two jobs,” he gave as an example, before adding two more with a laugh: “The sun. The surf.”
Question: Could you explain the role of the county election offices, as distinct from the state’s?
Answer: The city maintains the voter registry and conducts absentee voting. Voter registration… is the backbone of every election. It’s where the integrity of an election lies.… we make sure they’re eligible to vote, that they receive one ballot, that they also vote in the proper district.
We also do list maintenance. That’s key. We remove voters from the roll who are reported to us as having been deceased… who have felony convictions — we tag those records.
Q: So at the county level, it’s mainly about maintenance of the voter rolls.
A: Absolutely… and also what’s key is we do all the assignments.… So, based on your voter registration, that determines the geographic area where you live, the appropriate contests and the questions that appear on your ballot.
Our other focus is the vote by mail and early vote operations. Another way to look: The City Clerk’s Office is in charge of voting done before Election Day, whereas the state’s voter services are provided at the polls on Election Day.
Q: How does the office maintain the accuracy of the voter rolls, eliminating those who are deceased or moved away?
A: The Department of Health provides us with data to remove deceased voters. Official election mail such as the yellow voter card not only provides voters useful voter information, it also serves as a way to maintain the voter registry.
Return mail plays a key role in identifying voters who need to re-register and update their voter registration.
Q: Hawaii has famously low voter turnout rates. Is that part of your bailiwick?
A: To be sure, election administrators are one of the stakeholders in the election.
Our goal, with the Office of Elections and our counterparts on the neighbor islands, is to provide voter services and to make the process accessible, convenient and intuitive, as much as it’s possible, with all this intertwining federal and state laws and procedures.
Q: Do you have an opinion on whether we’re in a good place now with a range of options?
A: Absolutely.… 2,000 people in 2016 registered to vote and voted at our early-vote sites. We think those numbers are going to increase.…
Q:What is the staffing and annual budget for this operation?
A: The city employs seven permanent election workers. During our peak period, the city hires seasonal and short-term workers to demand and staff the early vote sites. During this time, our number grows to about 60. The budget in an election year is $2.5 million, and in a non-election year, it’s $1.8 million …
Q: There’s trending toward mail-in voting. How will this affect the work you do?
A: More has to be done in the same time frame, which has required our operations to shift towards technology to process the returned absentee mail packets.
Q: Is it generally seen in your field that this is where we’re heading?
A: Yeah. We’d all agree that this is the direction, at this stage.
Q: Is that because it’s cheaper, or …?
A: Well, the people have chosen, the voters have chosen. The last election, I think it was quoted, 62 percent of voters voted absentee. That’s an unheard-of number. …
That includes people overseas who we also serve, people who are away on the mainland who are registered voters here, as well as registered voters here who maybe live across from a polling place. They’ve just chosen to vote by mail, for one reason or another. Whether they want to take their time to consider their choices, or just didn’t have the time or inclination to to go to the polls. …
I’ve also heard the other side, too: people who love going to their polling place. So there’s both.
Q: I guess it’s up to the Legislature to make any other changes.
A: Yeah. We’ve supported vote-by-mail legislation every time it comes up, and provided technical amendments, based on our expertise in the area, and having also studied and visited. …
The other administrators visited Washington state and Oregon to view how they do vote by mail. And a lot of what we’re doing here in Honolulu is the very best practices the larger vote-by-mail jurisdictions do.
Q: Such as what?
A: For one thing we’ve incorporated technology. We have a scanner- sorter for what used to be a manual process of checking in every piece. We don’t do that anymore. …
Today, for instance, we’ve already received 8,000 pieces of mail before lunch. (Technology) is now something that’s required, because of our size. We verify signatures using a computer database of collected signatures from prior applications.
When you request an absentee application, we’re able to signature-compare image captures from your envelope that you return with the form you submitted to request the ballot.…
When the software can’t figure it out, we do it one by one, and we do it every day.…
Q: What should voters know to avoid spoiling their ballot, ensuring it will be counted?
A: Read the instructions carefully, which is especially important for voting in our state’s single-party primary. Look at both sides of the ballot. Completely darken the vote area — a check mark may not be enough to register your vote. If you spoil your ballot, call 768-3800 for a replacement.
Q: How will same-day voter registration work? Will their vote be counted immediately, or delayed?
A: Aside from additional time to process the new applicants, same-day registration voters ballots are treated no differently from a person who was previously registered to vote.
Q: If I wanted to register on Election Day, I guess I have to bring something with me?
A: We ask for a picture ID, and most people have it. You complete a form. The poll workers are instructed to call the control center at the State Capitol …
Based off the address provided, we can then assign them to the correct district precinct. That ensures the correct ballot. … Now, if they’re in the wrong place, they will make sure they go to the right place.
