Hawaii’s first full-scale experience with all-mail balloting would seem, by all accounts, to have accomplished its primary goal: to give a boost to the state’s sagging voter turnout.

Clearing that low bar was only the first step, however. Given the current worries about the postal system delivering on national moves toward vote-by- mail, there’s a long way to go to have real success in the Nov. 3 general election.

The chief concern is that at the national level, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has been caught in the vise of a presidential campaign year in the midst of a pandemic, when voting by mail is being widely expanded as a social-distancing mode of conducting an election.

At the same time, President Donald Trump has objected relentlessly to this trend, raising complaints about the potential for widespread fraud. And yet evidence of such fraud is rare, even in states that have sent ballots through the postal system for years.

In Hawaii, the statewide all-mail election process, complete with robust security protections, was in place well before the coronavirus pandemic struck. That was helpful, because the Office of Elections could focus on getting the word out about the changes: no precinct voting, all ballots due in the hands of elections officials by 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Inevitably, some people didn’t get the message: More than 900 ballots missed the deadline and won’t be counted. Voters had until Aug. 14 to correct problems with their ballot signatures — but overall turnout was expected to stand around 48%.

That’s good. But considering the crucial positions in government to be filled this year, it should be much better than that.

First, though, elections officials will have to make sure that new hurdles aren’t placed in the way for the general election.

The problem is that increasing voting by mail nationally will put an additional burden on the USPS. Congressional Democrats have passed a pandemic relief package that includes $25 billion to help the postal service manage the added load.

The president has said he opposes “universal mail-in voting.” Concurrently, he has appointed a new postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, who already has instituted organizational changes in day-to-day operations that, critics say, could impede the timely delivery of ballots. This would be unconscionable, and a move on Capitol Hill to bolster the postal service has bipartisan support.

In Hawaii, officials are watching to gauge their next steps. The state elections office here and its counterparts in 45 other states have received letters from Thomas J. Marshall, USPS executive vice president and general counsel, warning about the possibility of late delivery of completed ballots.

Fortunately, Hawaii’s cautionary note was mild. The “vast majority” of Hawaii voters should have time to meet deadlines, Marshall wrote, but he added that mailing back ballots a week in advance of the general election, by Oct. 27, would be recommended.

The Office of Elections does intend to revise its advisory that ballots be mailed five days in advance and now would urge that post offices get them “at least a week prior,” said spokeswoman Nedielyn Bueno.

Election administrators for each county also should consider whether enough drop-off boxes are accessible on each island as alternative ways to dispatch ballots in the event that the postal service is under duress.

Ultimately, it’s imperative that the federal government sees that barriers to voting are lowered — and that voters themselves do their part by checking early that they are registered. Voting is their right, but it is also their responsibility.