Ballots going out for Hawaii’s first all-mail general election

Some 458,000 ballots were mailed to registered voters in Honolulu on Monday and Tuesday as officials kicked off Hawaii’s first all-mail general election.

“At this stage, there are no problems,” city elections administrator Rex Quidilla reported Tuesday. “The process went smoothly, efficiently and according to schedule.”

Some ballots were already being delivered to Oahu mailboxes by the U.S. Postal Service on Tuesday, officials said.

The ballots — the first of many more sent to registered voters across the state this week — are being mailed early to ensure timely delivery before the Nov. 3 general election.

Hawaii was one of 46 states and the District of Columbia warned by the USPS that it could not guarantee all ballots cast by mail for the November election would arrive in time to be counted.

In response, election officials announced the ballots would be mailed to voters earlier and that voters would be required to return their ballots earlier than previously required.

Nedielyn Bueno, head of the state Office of Elections’ voter services, said Hawaii County ballots are scheduled to be mailed out Wednesday, followed by Maui County on Thursday and Kauai County on Friday.

On Oahu, a second batch of ballots from newly registered voters (the online registration deadline was Monday) is expected to go out by Friday, Quidilla said, and ballots with last-minute registration updates will be sent out at a later date.

Like the August primary election, when an unprecedented 406,000 ballots were cast, officials are expecting a huge response in the general, which will decide the next mayor of Honolulu and the next president of the United States.

Lawmakers approved Act 136, establishing elections by mail beginning in 2020, last year — even before the coronavirus pandemic would make in-person voting a potentially dangerous affair.

According to the law, all registered voters automatically receive a mail ballot packet and there would be no traditional polling places.

The law calls for ballot drop-off locations and “voter service centers” that will open 10 business days prior to Election Day (Oct. 20) and stay open through Election Day.

The service centers — at Honolulu Hale and Kapolei Hale on Oahu — will allow for in-person voting, ballot drop-off, registration updates and same-day registration.

Voters are strongly encouraged to return their ballots, which come with prepaid postage, via USPS mail or at a designated ballot drop box. More information, as well as a list of ballot drop box locations, is available at honoluluelec tions.us.

Quidilla said 17% of all votes cast in the primary came from the drop boxes. He said his office has added four drop box locations “to fill the pukas” and accommodate more voters.

“Some people like the use of the drop boxes, some people don’t. Some like the fact that there is no middle man. The ballots are retrieved by an elections officer,” he said.

All ballots are expected to arrive in voters’ mailboxes by Oct. 16. Anyone who does not receive a ballot by then should contact their county clerk.

The last day to return your voted ballot by mail is Oct. 27. After that date, voters must return their ballot to a designated drop box.

Quidilla encourage voters who are nervous about whether their vote will count to make a plan to return their ballot, either by USPS or drop box.