As of Friday, the Election Division of Hawai‘i County has received 20,776 ballots out of 112,744 issued for the Aug. 8 primary election.

There is not a mayor’s race in the county this year, but all nine County Council seats are on the ballot.

Four of the council seats are open, with Ashley Kierkiewicz, Matt Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder and Rebecca Villegas having reached term limits (four 2-year terms) and Michelle Galimba choosing not to seek re-election.

That leaves five county council incumbents seeking re-election. Two are running unopposed: Holeka Inaba in District 8 and James Hustace in District 9.

Three have competition: Heather Kimball in District 1, Jennifer “Jenn” Kagiwada in District 2 and Dennis “Fresh” Onishi is in District 3.

Districts 4, 5, 6 and 7 all are open seats with multiple political newcomers in the races.

For state elections in Hawaiʻi, nine candidates are trying to unseat Gov. Josh Green, including three from the Big Island, and all from East Hawaiʻi: Democrat George “Teva” Lucas-Tadeo, Republican Ken Fujiyama and nonpartisan John “Raghu” Giuffre.

In the primary for state offices, voters must select a party and only vote for a candidate in that party.

Mail-in ballots arrived in mailboxes on July 21. Ballots must be received — not postmarked — by 7 p.m. on Aug. 8. Ballots received after the deadline will not be counted. For those who mail ballots, be sure to send them several days in advance so the Elections Division gets them on time.

Ballot drop boxes, at 10 locations around the island, opened July 19.

Voter service centers throughout the state opened July 27 for those who wanted to cast their ballot in person to provide additional election services such as voter registration and accessible voting.

Voter service centers are located in Hilo at the Hawai‘i County Building, 25 Aupuni St., Suite 1502, and in Kona at the West Hawai‘i Civic Center, 74-5044 Ane Keohokālole Highway Building D, 1st Floor.

For those who decide to vote at the service centers, county officials suggest the following:

• Save time by registering or updating your voter information using the online voter registration system.
• Review the Voter Guide to learn about candidates in this year’s primary elections.
• Each center is equipped with accessible ballot-marking devices that allow voters to cast their ballot independently using features such as audio assistance.
• Voting closes at 7 p.m. Election Day.
• To ensure your vote is counted, you must be in line at a voter service center no later than 7 p.m. or your voted mail ballot must be received by the deadline. Postmarks are not accepted.
• Visit the Hawai‘i Office of Elections website or call 808-453-VOTE (8683) for all official election information.

The centers will be open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Same-day voter registration also will be available.

For other important dates on this year’s election calendar, visit the Elections Division website. For more election resources, click here.

You can even track your ballot with BallotTrax to know when it is mailed, returned and counted.

See previous Big Island Now election stories below:

Candidates for Ka‘ū District seat on Hawai‘i County Council talk priorities for rural and remote area

Who is running for Hawai‘i County Council? 29 candidates meet Tuesday filing deadline