The state elections office has only one job to do and two years to prepare for it, but still couldn’t get it right as we "flASHback" on the week’s news that amused and confused:

» Thousands of voters endured long waits in line or went home frustrated when 24 Oahu polling places ran out of ballots. Elections chief Scott Nago got tired of lecturing his Hawaii island counterparts about electoral incompetence, so he decided to demonstrate.

» Hawaii Democrats produced sweeping victories for President Barack Obama and their candidates for Congress and the Legislature with a massive get-out-the-vote campaign. They needed it to counteract the Office of Elections’ send-the-vote-home campaign.

» After former Gov. Linda Lingle’s lopsided loss to Mazie Hirono for the U.S. Senate, Republicans were out of ideas on how to compete in Democratic Hawaii. Lingle tried every way to appeal to Democratic voters except changing her middle name to Hussein.

» Hirono is the first Buddhist elected to the U.S. Senate and new Rep. Tulsi Gabbard will be the first Hindu in Congress. Senior Sen. Daniel Inouye also has a religious distinction: He’s the only senator left who was around when Moses parted the Red Sea.

» U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa held her seat against Charles Djou in a dignified contest in which both candidates were credited with issue-oriented campaigns. Naturally, they received less attention than Gabbard got in her non-campaign against a guy who lives in a van.

» Former Gov. Ben Cayetano and ex-Hawaii island Mayor Harry Kim both fell short in comeback attempts at age 72 after incurring Inouye’s ire for not staying retired. Like he’s set an example of graceful retirement for them to follow.

» Mayor-elect Kirk Caldwell told supporters he’s proud that he defeated Cayetano’s anti-rail campaign without blaming anybody else for the city’s problems. He’s saving that for the City Council.

» City crews doing a court-ordered archaeological survey found another bone in the downtown transit corridor. It’s believed to be the remains of the anti-rail movement.

» House Democratic dissidents who say they want to bring lawmaking into the 21st century are trying to replace Speaker Calvin Say with 79-year-old former Speaker Joe Souki. They must mean the 21st century B.C.

» A passer-by found a half-dozen crying puppies abandoned in a Dumpster at Campbell Industrial Park. Aw, that wasn’t a nice way to treat Republican legislative candidates.

And the quote of the week … from Chief Elections Officer Scott Nago on the ballot shortage: "Ultimately it was just a bad call on our part. The numbers were based on the primary with an inflation rate included and we just got it wrong. … The bottom line is we miscalculated." Nothing inspires confidence like vote counters who don’t know how to calculate.

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Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com or blog.volcanicash.net.