On eve of Hawaii’s primary election, last-minute efforts underway to drum up excitement

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - As of Thursday, about 211,000 people have already voted in the Hawaii primary election, which wraps up Saturday night.

With no competitive big ticket or statewide races, that’s pretty low turnout — but Friday, there were efforts to build excitement.

Unified by the need for political clout, four Native Hawaiian organizations were making some noise for democracy Friday morning under the banner of “Our Kaiaulu (Community) Votes.”

Among them was Office of Hawaiian Affairs CEO Stacy Ferreira.

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“We need to get in elected officials who understand the issues of the Hawaiian community,” she said. “So, this is important. Every race is important. Getting out and showing that there are Hawaiians who are very interested, very active, can encourage others who are currently not voting to register and to participate when the elections come up.”

And there are local races that could have big impact.

Facing three underfunded opponents, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi could win a clear majority on Saturday and walk into four more years.

Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth is facing spirited opposition from three challengers.

In Kakaako, House Speaker Scott Saiki is facing Coco Iwamoto in a close winner-take-all primary.

In Makakilo, Republican State Rep. Kanani Souza’s challenger Sheila Medeiros is endorsed by the other House Republicans, with no Democrat in the race.

South Maui Councilman Tom Cook is being challenged by Kelly King — who gave up the seat to run for mayor in the 2022 election.

And at Kapolei Hale, there were those like Terry and Sheila O’Malley, who were there to vote from a sense of duty.

“It would have been easy to, first of all, mail-in, which we’re against, because we want to make sure that we’re accounted for, that we did take the time to vote,” Sheila said.

Terry O’Malley said he voted because of “what’s going on in the world today, and wanting to get things back the way they were.”

The O’Malleys were part of a steady stream of walk-in and drive-in voters at Honolulu Hale Friday.

The most excited were Kamehameha Schools seniors, like 17-year-old Claire Hutchison, who dropped off her parents ballots Friday, but can vote in the presidential race in November after she turns 18.

“I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time because it’s one of the few things I can do as an adult, and I think that, especially as a Native Hawaiian, it’s my part to advocate for us,” she said. “I think that if we all band together and we all vote, then we can be recognized, and people will like, look at our generation and see that we’re responsible.”

It’s too late to drop ballots in the mail, but Voter Service Centers, including drop boxes for mail-in ballots, will be available until 7 p.m. Saturday.

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