Hawaii battles low voter turnout

STATE STATS

Voter makeup: Just 839,618 people of Hawaii’s more than 1.4 million population were registered to vote as of Aug. 10. Only 32.3 percent of voters participated in the primary election, compared to 40 percent during the 2022 election. According to the Hawaii Office of Elections, this year’s primary turnout is the lowest in the state’s history. Hawaii does not report voter registration by political party. The state regularly elects Democrats in federal elections.

Voting: All registered voters in Hawaii automatically receive a ballot in the mail. The county elections offices must receive completed ballots by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day. Voters can return their ballots by mail or in person at a designated deposit location and can sign up to track their ballot through BallotTrax. Registered voters can also vote in person at voter service centers that open 10 days before Election Day. Hawaii offers same-day registration, and the state allows 16-year-old residents to pre-register to vote so that they will automatically receive a ballot for the first election after they turn 18.

In 2022, a federal judge in Hawaii ruled that former Hawaii residents who moved to U.S. territories cannot cast absentee ballots for the state in federal elections. Residents of Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa can vote in primary elections but are barred from voting in general elections. The plaintiffs argued that the state unfairly denied them their right to vote due to their living situations. Most of the plaintiffs lived in Hawaii for short periods of time decades ago while serving in the military.

PRESIDENTIAL

Former President Donald Trump on March 12 secured 19 delegates when he won 4,348 votes, accounting for 97 percent of the primary vote. Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley secured just 1.5 percent of the vote.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden won 66 percent of the Democratic primary vote with 1,032 votes. About 29 percent of voters selected “uncommitted,” and 3.2 percent backed Marianne Williamson. Biden secured 15 of the state’s 22 delegates, with the remaining seven being uncommitted.

Biden won the state in 2020 with 63.7 percent of the vote. Since becoming a state in 1959, Hawaii has voted for a Democratic presidential candidate 14 times and a Republican candidate twice. Hawaiian voters last backed a Republican in 1984 when voters supported Ronald Reagan.

SENATE

Both senators from Hawaii are Democrats and have each held their positions for more than a decade, though only one is up for reelection this year. The Cook Political Report rated the Senate race as solidly leaning Democrat.

• Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono, 76, is running for reelection after first taking office in 2013 and being reelected in 2018. She won the Democratic primary election with 90.6 percent of the vote. Hirono serves on the Senate’s Armed Services and Judiciary committees and was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 to 2013. Before running for federal office, Hirono served as the lieutenant governor of Hawaii from 1994 to 2002 and was a member of the state House from 1980 to 1994. Hirono and her mother and brothers immigrated to the United States from Japan when she was a child. According to her campaign website, she is staunchly pro-abortion and voted in favor of the American Rescue Plan.

• Marine veteran Bob McDermott, 61, won the Republican primary election with 52.3 percent of the vote, beating five other Republican candidates. McDermott served in the Hawaii State House of Representatives from 2012 to 2022. He previously ran for the U.S. Senate in 2022 but lost to Democrat Brian Schatz, 51. McDermott and his wife are devout Roman Catholics, according to his campaign website, and he lists upholding parental rights and pro-life values as key issues for his campaign.

• Emma Jane Avila Pohlman, 37, is running as a Green Party candidate. Pohlman received her law degree from Loyola Law School in California and says her top campaign priority is ensuring the people of Hawaii have clean water, according to the state’s voter guide.

U.S. HOUSE

Both of Hawaii’s U.S. House seats are currently held by Democratic incumbents running for reelection. Four race trackers have rated both races as solidly Democratic.

• Democratic incumbent Ed Case, 71, is facing Republican challenger Patrick Largey, 65, in the race for the 1st Congressional District. Case first took public office in 1994 when he was elected to the State House of Representatives. He served for eight years before launching a campaign for governor in 2002 but lost the Democratic primary to Mazie Hirono. He then ran in the state’s special congressional election in 2002 and served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives before running unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate. He was reelected to the U.S. House in 2018. According to his campaign website, Case is prioritizing working with members of the opposite party, maintaining a strong military, preserving Social Security and Medicare, and protecting the environment. Meanwhile, Largey has lived in Hawaii since being stationed there in 1985 while serving in the U.S. Air Force. He is pro-life, supports the Second Amendment right to bear arms, and has focused his campaign on strengthening the economy.

• In the 2nd District, Democratic incumbent Jill Tokuda, 48, is running against Republican Steven Bond, 60, Libertarian Aaron Toman, 31, and nonpartisan candidate Randall Meyer. Tokuda, a first-term congresswoman, serves on the House Committee on Agriculture and the House Committee on Armed Services.

Dig deeper:

• Read my report in The Sift about former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard backing former President Donald Trump.

• Listen to Mary Muncy’s report about efforts to restore Maui after devastating wildfires.

• Read Christina Grube’s report in The Sift about Hawaii Electric committing to pay $2 billion for its role in the wildfire.

• Read Steve West’s report about Hawaiian schools excluding Christian clubs.

• Read my report in The Sift about Maui energy officials testifying before Congress.

Visit the WORLD Election Center 2024 to follow our state-by-state coverage between now and November.