By COLIN M. STEWART
By COLIN M. STEWART
Tribune-Herald Staff Writer
For the first time on Hawaii Island, more voters opted to vote early, rather than report to their precincts on primary election day.
A review of voter turnouts for Hawaii County between the Sept. 21, 2002, primary election and this Saturday’s shows that voting via walk-in and mail-in absentee ballots has steadily grown in popularity over the last decade, while fewer voters are opting to brave the lines in front of their assigned polling places on primary day.
In 2002’s primary, the Big Island saw a precinct turnout of 24.5 percent of all registered voters, compared with a mail-in and walk-in absentee ballot turnout of only 12.6 percent. But by Saturday, the percentage of precinct voters had dropped to 20 percent, while 22.7 percent of the island’s registered voters elected to vote absentee.
That trend is likely to continue, said Todd Belt, associate professor and chairman of the University of Hawaii at Hilo’s Department of Political Science.
“It (early voting) is catching on, No. 1 because it’s convenient,” Belt said. “Even though we (the state of Hawaii) do have a state holiday for the General Election and we do the primary on Saturdays, it’s becoming more popular because people are just busier. … People don’t want to give up a weekend day when they could be doing something else.”
He said voting via mail has become especially popular because people can do it on their own time without the hassle of finding time to visit the polling place.
“Because we’ve been doing absentee voting for so long, now, people trust it more,” Belt explained. “They trust paper more than they do electronic. … In Oregon, they do it all by mail, and they have a 75 percent turnout.”
That may be the direction Hawaii is heading in the future he said, although it probably won’t make everyone happy.
“For some people, myself included, it’s a fun thing to go and vote. Some people feel that it’s their patriotic duty. And, there’s something to be said for the physical activity of democracy. But, there’s also budgetary realism that must be taken into account. It’s hard to staff precincts. … And you have all the machinery.”
This year there were three “virtual” precincts on Hawaii Island serving a total of about 600 voters who were in remote locations. Those voters were all sent early mail-in ballots to ensure that their votes could be counted, as providing staff and equipment for such locations wasn’t financially feasible. And as budget cuts and staffing issues take their toll, such measures may become more common place, Belt said.
The trend isn’t just Hawaii’s and Oregon’s alone. Michael P. McDonald, an associate professor with George Mason University’s Department of Public and International Affairs, says that early voting is skyrocketing across the country. In the 2008 presidential election, a record 30 percent of Americans cast early votes, compared with only 20 percent in 2004.
“All indications are the record will be shattered again in 2012, with somewhere around 35 percent of the vote cast prior to Election Day,” McDonald wrote Monday in a Huffington Post column.
As for Hawaii Island’s overall voter turnout, Belt said it was a bit higher than usual. A total of 43,347 people cast their ballots in the primary, out of 101,728 registered voters. That’s a turnout of 42.6 percent.
“That’s pretty good for a primary,” Belt said. “Hawaii County’s turnout is usually 35 to 40 percent,” Belt said. “(This year’s) was inordinately high. Generally, when you have higher profile offices on the ticket you get a better turnout, like if you have a governor or senator race, you get a higher voting rate.”
The highest overall turnout — including both precinct voting and absentee voting — on the island tended to center in Hilo, with Waiakea High School putting up the highest participation, of 61.1 percent. Kahakai Elementary precinct, meanwhile, had the lowest voter turnout, at 29.1 percent.
Hawaii Island Total Voter Turnout
Top Five Precincts
1. Waiakea High School – 61.1 percent
2. AJA Memorial Hall – 56.8 percent
3. E.B. DeSilva Elementary – 54.5 percent
4. Waiakea Elementary – 52.5 percent
5. Paauilo Elementary – 51.8 percent
Bottom Five Precincts
1. Kahakai Elementary – 29.1 percent
2. Waikoloa Elementary – 32.7 percent
3. Edith Kanaka‘ole Multi-Purpose Stadium – 33.6 percent
4. Kona Palisades Community Center – 33.8 percent
5. West Hawaii Civic Center – 35.1 percent
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Hawaii Island Early Voter Turnout
Top Five Precincts
1. Waiakea High School – 40.9 percent
2. E.B. DeSilva Elementary – 33.4 percent
3. AJA Memorial Hall – 33.3 percent
4. Waiakea Elementary – 32.7 percent
5. Hilo High School – 29.1 percent
Bottom Five Precincts
1.Ocean View Community Center – 14.5 percent
2. Kahakai Elementary – 14.7 percent
3. Waikoloa Elementary – 15.5 percent
4. Pahoa Community Center – 16 percent
5. Kona Palisades Community Center – 16.3 percent
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Hawaii Island Election Day Voter Turnout
Top Five Precincts
1. Honohina Hongwanji – 31.3 percent
2. Cooper Center – 28.6 percent
3. Keaukaha Elementary – 25.6 percent
4. Paauilo Elementary – 25 percent
5. Ka‘u High – 24.9 percent
Bottom Five Precincts
1. West Hawaii Civic Center – 13.2 percent
2. Kahakai Elementary – 14.4 percent
3. Edith Kanaka‘ole Multi-Purpose Stadium – 14.4 percent
4. Hilo High – 15.4 percent
5. Kealakehe High – 16 percent