The last really big deal in how Hawaii held elections came in 1968 when voters were first given computer punch cards to be used as ballots. A computer read the cards, counted each candidate’s votes and Hawaii joined the age of electronic voting.

Now the big change is you will vote from home. Later this month, election officials will mail out ballots for the August statewide primary election.

If you are a registered voter, the state will send you the official ballot to be filled out and mailed back before the Aug. 8 election.

Officials now are carefully watching preparations, worrying over new voter registration features, checking ballot security and accessibility.

Rex Quidilla, elections administrator for Honolulu, says while there has been a dramatic drop in paper transactions, both voter registrations and change of address forms, there is a huge increase in electronic submissions.

“The big point is there are no more polling places,” said Quidilla, a veteran state and now city elections official.

“I can’t recall anything like this: There have always been polling places; now they are gone.

“This is just a sea change in how we vote,” Quidilla said.

Common Cause, the grass-roots government reform group, thinks voting by mail will be a dramatic improvement.

“We have been getting out the word that voting is easier than ever in 2020 with voting by mail from the comfort and safety of one’s own home during this pandemic. Voting from home also allows people the time to research candidates and issues from home to make a better and more informed choice,” said Sandy Ma, executive director of Common Cause Hawaii.

Honolulu voting officials toured the mail-in ballot operations in Oregon, Washington state and Colorado, the first three states to go to 100% mail-in to learn the details of the system.

Quidilla said Honolulu made adjustments after the tour. First there would be a system of eight Oahu drop-off boxes for voters who didn’t want to mail in their ballots. Also, two voter service centers will be open. Also if officials say there is a problem recognizing the signature on your ballot, you will be able to address the problems with your smartphone.

If you need to register to vote, you can do it online by going to olvr.hawaii.gov.

If you get a ballot for someone who no longer lives at that address, just mark “return to sender” on the envelope and put it back in the mailbox, Quidilla explained.

You cannot vote a ballot that isn’t marked for you because the elections office will spot the fake signature and is likely to prosecute, election officials have warned.

At the same time that real concerns and problems are being studied, election officials have to put up with the distrust spread by the president, who falsely claims that mail-in voting leads to voter fraud.

Although officials across the country say voter fraud is not a problem, the Republican president insists on campaigning against it.

“How do you disprove a negative?” Quidilla asked. He points to the overwhelming acceptance by local voters using the current mail-in absentee voting system.

“The last primary election had 60% mail-in and the general election was 52%.

“We look at a large segment of the popular vote already using mail and look at it with approval. The criticism is just conjecture,” Quidilla said.

Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays. Reach him at 808onpolitics@gmail.com.