Voter service centers in Hawaii open ahead of primary election

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - While there has been a shift to mail-in and drop-off ballot voting in the state, voter service centers are still available to those who prefer an in-person experience.

Voter service centers across the islands opened Monday ahead of the upcoming primary election.

Honolulu Hale and Kapolei Hale, which are two of the prominent voting centers on Oahu, will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

On Aug. 13, all centers will open earlier — from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m, except for Maui’s Hana location and the Oahu “pop-up” centers.

In Kaneohe, the “pop-up” voter service center opened Monday morning at the district park meeting room. The center will serve the public between 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. for one week.

Following the closure of the Kaneohe site, Wahiawa will open a “pop-up voting” center from Aug. 8 through Aug. 12 at the George Fred Wright Wahiawa District Park.

“We wanted to get a little bit more geographic reach and so the best way to do it is to pop-up for five days in the windward side and then next week, we’re gonna move over to the Wahiawa district park and be there for another five days,” said Honolulu city clerk Glen Takahashi.

For those that decide to vote in-person, electronic voting machines are no longer an option as all ballots are now paper.

“It provides confidence for the voters that their vote was cast the way they intended it,” Takahashi explained. “There are persons that are obviously concerned with security. The computer science technology guys are always concerned about auditability, so with everybody voting a paper ballot, the process becomes auditable by the state and their election observers.”

Takahashi adds that as of Monday, nearly 64,000 ballots have been returned by mail.

The opening of the voter service centers coincides with a push from members of the Native Hawaiian community who want to see increased turnout.

Representatives from several Native Hawaiian organizations gathered at Honolulu Hale Monday to drop off their filled-out ballots in efforts to highlight the importance of civic engagement.

In 2020, Hawaii saw a strong near-70% voter turnout, and advocates not only want to exceed that, but hope, Native Hawaiians have more impact.

“Post redistricting, almost all of our elected officials are up for election again,” said Native Hawaiian voting advocate and recent Kamehameha Schools graduate Joshua Ching. “So it’s important that we’re able to get out the vote and ensure that Native Hawaiians, our youth, have their priorities, their interests in mind when we are casting our ballots because those elected officials are gonna determine the future of our state.”

After the primary elections on August 13, the centers will close for voter services until Oct. 25 before the general election.

Voter service centers:

Oahu

Honolulu Hale:

• 530 South King Street
• Aug. 1 to Aug. 12 (8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

Kapolei Hale:

• 1000 Uluohia Street
• Aug. 1 to Aug. 12 (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

Kaneohe District Park “Pop-Up”:

• 45-660 Keaahala Road
• Aug. 1 to Aug. 5 (11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.)

Wahiawa District Park “Pop-Up”:

• 1129 Kilani Avenue
• Aug. 8 to Aug. 12 (11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.)

Maui County

Mitchell Pauole Center (Molokai):

• 90 Ainoa Street
• Aug. 1 to Aug. 12 (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

Lanai Community Center (Lanai):

• 411 Eighth Street
• Aug. 8 to Aug. 12 (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

Velma McWayne Santos Community Center:

• 395 Waena Street
• Aug. 1 to Aug. 12 (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

Hana High & Elementary School:

• 4111 Hana Hwy
• Aug. 6 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
• This center will not be open on election day.

Hawaii Island

County of Hawaii Aupuni Center:

• 101 Pauahi Street, #1
• Aug. 1 to Aug. 12 (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

West Hawaii Civic Center:

• 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway
• Aug. 1 to Aug. 12 (8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

Kauai

Historic County Annex Building Basement:

• 4386 Rice Street
• Aug. 1 to Aug. 12 (8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

For a list of ballot drop-off boxes, click here.

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