The Hawaii County Elections Office said on Wednesday they are planning on mailing out absentee ballots possibly by Friday of this week, July 27, or if not, sometime next week.
That makes Hawaii County the last to mail its absentee ballots. Of the Hawaii County registered voters, which according to the State Office of Elections is 101,728, it appears that around 18,000 voters have requested absentee ballots. But that is a number still to be confirmed by the County Clerk, Jamae Kawauchi, who is the highest election authority in Hawaii County.
Maui County started mailing their ballots July 17. Kaua’i County mailed its ballots starting July 18. And the City and County of Honolulu, with the largest voter rolls in the state–more than 461,000 voters–mailed their absentee ballots out starting July 23. Absentee ballots will continue to be mailed out in all counties until August 6, as the final day to request absentee ballots is Saturday, August 4. Ballots must be returned by the time the polls closed on Saturday, August 11.
The State Elections Office and Chief Elections Officer Scott Nago says his office has no specific oversight over the Hawaii County Elections Office, although all the elections offices in the state typically work collaboratively. He did say the usual practice is to mail out the absentee ballots at least 20 days prior to the election. He said the Hawaii County Elections Office has not informed them of their intent regarding absentee ballots.
If ballots are mailed out July 27, they should be in homes by July 30, less than two weeks prior to the August 11 election–and the same day walk-in absentee voting begins.
Kawauchi has yet to release the figures of voter registrations by Council District. She also would not confirm the number of total voters registered in Hawaii County, even though it is public information and the State Office released it.
