Voter registration increases

By NANCY COOK LAUER

Stephens Media

Hawaii added 18,168 voters to its rolls between the Aug. 11 primary and the Oct. 8 General Election registration deadline, a 2.6 percent increase that brings the number of registered voters to 705,668, according to figures obtained Monday from the City and County of Honolulu, which keeps the voter lists for the state.

With what promises to be a neck-and-neck battle for the re-election of Hawaii-born President Barack Obama topping the ticket, and what could be a once-in-a-generation open seat for U.S. Senate following close behind, Hawaii residents seem particularly attuned to politics this year. But at least one elections official says it’s not unusual for voter registration to spike after the primary in presidential election years.

Leading the way in terms of sheer numbers, and in percent increase, was Oahu, with a 2.7 percent increase, followed by Hawaii County, with a 2.6 percent increase, Maui, with a 2.4 percent increase and Kauai, with a 2.3 percent increase.

Honolulu Elections Administrator Glen Takahashi said Oahu’s primary-to-General-Election bump of 12,658 voters is similar to previous presidential elections. In 2008, 15,977 voters were added to the rolls during that time frame and 14,968 were added in 2004.

“It’s par for the course,” Takahashi said. “It’s a general interest in presidential elections.”

Hawaii County, the county with the fastest population growth rate in the state, has had, by far, the biggest percentage increase of registered voters since the 2008 General Election. The county added 4,986 voters, for a 5 percent increase, compared to the state average of 2.1 percent.

Some 104,323 voters are registered for the General Election, said acting Hawaii County Elections Administrator Lehua Iopa.

Hawaii County Clerk Jamae Kawauchi said her office undertook a number of initiatives to increase voter registration.

“We increased the number of voter registration drives held islandwide, especially in West Hawaii,” Kawauchi said, noting that historically there have been fewer registration activities on the leeward side.

The county also began “Talk Story Tuesdays,” voter education and registration drives that, for the first time, were also held in the evenings. And, Kawauchi said, an emphasis on youth in government added more than 700 first-time voters registered through high school programs.

Lance Taguchi, deputy county clerk for Maui County, said his office has kept to its usual registration efforts, primarily running public service announcements on radio. He said political parties and other groups have been organizing voter registration drives, but he doesn’t know if they’ve intensified their efforts this year.

Kauai, however, has by far the greatest participation by voting-age population. On the Garden Isle, 77.4 percent of all residents 18 and over are registered to vote, according to a West Hawaii Today analysis of voter registration and census data. That compares with a state average of 65.9 percent, and a national average of 71 percent in the 2008 General Election, the last presidential contest.

That was good news for Elections Administrator Lyndon Yoshioka, who said his county has basically been doing the same things other counties do in terms of registering voters.

“I’m pleasantly surprised,” Yoshioka said. “I just wish more of them would turn out to vote.”

Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.