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The 2022 primary election is here, Saturday, Aug. 13.
There have been 112,761 ballots issued to Hawai’i County voters this year, and according to the Office of the County Clerk Elections Division website, as of 5 p.m. Monday, Aug. 8, there have been 29,561 ballots returned. The counts are updated at the end of each workday.
As a comparison, by July 31, 2020, the office had already received 34,467 ballots for that year’s primary election.
The county elections office advises that voters sending their ballots back in the mail should have done so before Tuesday, Aug. 9, to be sure they are counted. However, ballot drop boxes are available at several locations around the island to return ballots for the primary after Tuesday.
Drop boxes can be found at the Waimea Police Station, Rodney Yano Memorial Hall in Captain Cook, Pāhoa Police Station, Nāʻālehu Police Station, West Hawaiʻi Civic Center in Kailua-Kona, Hilo County Building, North Kohala Police Station, Laupāhoehoe Police Station and Waikōloa Village Association.
In addition to the drop boxes, ballots also can be brought to voter service centers at the Aupuni Center Conference Room in Hilo and in Building G at the West Hawaiʻi Civic Center in Kona.
“Voted ballots must be received by the County of Hawai’i Elections Division by 7 p.m. on Election Day to be counted,” the elections office website says.
Voters can even track their ballot by clicking here.
For a map of ballot drop box and voter service center locations, click here.
Other services provided at the voter service centers include voting machine services for people with special needs and all voting services as provided by law. Voters who missed the Aug. 3 voter registration deadline for this year’s primary or and anyone who still needs to register to vote can do so and cast their ballots in person at a voter service center.
The centers are open 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. through Friday and will be open until 7 p.m. on Election Day this Saturday.
For more information about how to register to vote, click here.
The state Office of Elections operates counting centers with which the neighbor islands assist. Ballot counting started Aug. 2 on the Big Island, according to the county. Election results will be reported by the state.
Voters can rest assured that as long as they return their ballots on time or vote in person at one of the voter service centers on election day, their voices will be heard. A team of elections officials and others are making sure that happens.
“It takes a community to conduct an election,” the county elections office told Big Island Now in an email. “This includes full-time workers, contract workers, seasonal hires and volunteers.”
For more information about how to vote or for any questions, call the Elections Division at 808-961-8277.
Here is a list of candidates running in this year’s elections (Note: Some candidates will only appear on the general election ballot in November, depending on how many filed in each race):
For more information about this year’s primary matchups, click here.
