In the early 1960s, slightly more than 80 percent of Hawaii’s eligible voters cast ballots in a primary election. Since then, an apathetic downward slide has been steady.

The 2016 primary marked a record low, when only 34.7 percent of registered voters took part.

Participation bumped up to 43 percent in the 2016 presidential election. But on that November day, when votes were cast in every state, Hawaii ranked dead last, according to a report by Nonprofit VOTE and the U.S. Elections Project, which ranked voter turnout and identified policies aimed at increasing participation.

Each of the top six states with the highest turnouts in that election — Minnesota led the pack, at nearly 75 percent — offered same-day voter registration. This time around, for the first time, Hawaii too will offer same-day registration at the polls on Aug. 11. Supporters of state legislation that put in place the same-day option have estimated that it will boost participation by at least 5 percent. Let’s hope so.

What’s more, would-be voters need not wait until next weekend. The registration process is open during the walk-in voting period, which started this week and wraps up on Thursday.

If you think your vote in this election doesn’t matter, you’re mistaken. Based on results from past primaries, there’s a solid chance that at least a few races will be decided by fewer than 50 votes. More voter registration information is available online at www.elections.hawaii.gov. And to learn more about the candidates, see our online voters guide at 808ne.ws/Candidateprofiles.

No aloha in poke trademark fight

The whole idea of trademark law is to protect the brand identify of the trademark holder. The question now is whether enforcing that law is going to produce a brand damage that the owners of Aloha Poke Co. may not have anticipated.

The chain of eateries serving its questionable version of the Hawaiian fish dish is based in Chicago. Over the past months, owners of other poke stands that include the word “aloha” in their names have been receiving cease-and-desist letters from Aloha Poke Co. about its registered trademark.

“Due to the similarity of the marks, the similarity of the goods and services, and a likelihood of confusion in the marketplace, your use of ‘Aloha’ and ‘Aloha Poke’ must cease immediately,” Brian R. Michalek, attorney for Aloha Poke Co., wrote in a letter to Jeff Sampson, owner of Aloha Poke Shop in Honolulu, back in January.

Since then, this letter and warnings to other similarly named businesses have set off a social media rage, and a boycott. The protesters are unmoved by CEO Chris Birkinshaw’s defense of the company, that no harm was meant.

The Chicago owners were plainly so oblivious to the cultural weight of the term that they were surprised at the reaction, or pretended to be. It should be obvious that Hawaii people would resent being told that their use of “aloha” must cease, even in this limited way.

The law shields trademarks. But boycotts — while not an expression of aloha, either — have power too, and could leave another kind of mark.

A solemn return from North Korea

Last month marked the 65th anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement, which ended hostilities on the Korean Peninsula. The armistice, signed on July 27, 1953, divided the country in two, North and South, with a demilitarized zone in between. Today, a final peace treaty remains elusive.

The shooting stopped, and U.S. combat soldiers made their way home. But not all of them. The remains of some U.S. servicemen, unidentified but mourned, still lie somewhere in North Korea.

So the return of American remains from North Korea, 55 boxes in all, brought to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Aug. 1 for forensic analysis, was a time to remember all of the estimated 33,600 American servicemen who died in combat in Korea.

“Some have called the Korean War the ‘forgotten war’,” said Vice President Mike Pence at the Aug. 1 ceremony. “But today, we prove these heroes were never forgotten. Today, our boys are coming home.”

More than 400 sets of remains have been brought back to the U.S. between 1990 and 2005, but not all of them have been identified. It’s hoped that with this latest arrival, some long-grieving families may find closure with the identification of their loved ones — and that someday their memory will be honored with a lasting peace in Korea.