Hawaiian Voters on Par With the State

Hawaiʻi experienced a low voter turnout in the general election with just 61% of registered voters casting their ballots. Many of the winning candidates were either uncontested, determined in the primary election, or were incumbents retaking their seats.

Locally, there were a few significant changes determined by this year’s election. One was the defeat of longtime House Speaker Rep. Scott Saiki (District 25) by Kim Coco Iwamoto who beat Saiki in the primary with 49% of the votes. This new dynamic will significantly shift things in the House and in the community.

Another change was the decisive loss of Hawaiʻi Island Mayor Mitch Roth after just one term to Dr. Kimo Alameda who garnered 51.2% of votes.

Low voter turnout has long been a concern for the state and, according to media commentary, one reason is a lack of participation by Native Hawaiians. However, there is no data to support that.

Hawaiʻi does not have any election data defining the Hawaiian voter. ʻImi Pono surveys asking Native Hawaiians about their community and civic engagement show that the Hawaiian community practices both kuleana and community engagement in leadership and politics at the same rate, and in some instances are more engaged, than the average Hawaiʻi resident.

In areas where Native Hawaiians are a majority, the turnout of registered voters was consistent with other precincts across the state.

In areas like Anahola and Kekaha (Kauaʻi), Waimānalo and Waiʻanae (Oʻahu), Hāna (Maui), the island of Molokaʻi, and Hilo (Hawaiʻi Island), most residents are described as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.

The number of Native Hawaiians living in any given community (according to census data), does not necessarily reflect the number of registered voters from that community that are Native Hawaiian. However, if 70% of the population on the Waiʻanae Coast is Native Hawaiian, and voter turnout is 50% of registered voters, it is safe to assume that most of those voters are Native Hawaiians.

Voter turnout by county was consistent across the pae ʻāina: Hawaiʻi (51%); Honolulu (58%); Kauaʻi (57%); and Maui (55%).

And voter turnout in communities where Native Hawaiians are the residential majority reflected a similar pattern: Anahola and Kekaha, Kauaʻi (53%); Hāna, Maui (53%); Keaukaha, Panaʻewa, Kaikoʻo and Kealakehe, Hawaiʻi Island (60%); Molokaʻi (53%); Waiʻanae Coast, Oʻahu (50%); and Waimānalo, Oʻahu (55%).

Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) trustees are elected every two years by voters across the state. Even though these are elected offices voted on statewide, OHA trustee candidate races and issues do not get the same kind of media attention as does the governor’s race – the only other elected office voted on by all Hawaiʻi citizens. In most cases, OHA candidates do not have the budgets or staffing to run statewide political campaigns.

As a result, about 40% of ballots for the OHA races were left blank. In Native Hawaiian majority precincts, blank votes account for 20-35% of votes. On average, voters in Native Hawaiian majority precincts on Hawaiʻi Island averaged 48% blank votes for the OHA trustee races for Molokaʻi/Lānaʻi and Kauaʻi/Niʻihau.

According to general election results by county, communities generally voted for the incumbent OHA trustee from their respective regions. The only exception was the Molokaʻi/Lānaʻi race. Across all counties and districts, voters fluctuated between incumbent Luana Alapa and challenger Kūnani Nihipali. While Alapa ultimately prevailed at the polls, among voters from Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi, Nihipali received more votes.

In a noteworthy development, former U.S. Congressman Kaialiʻi Kahele won more than 50% of votes in the August Primary Election in August for the Hawaiʻi Island trustee seat vacated by Mililani Trask, who decided not to run for re-election. Kahele’s return to public service via OHA will add a new dynamic to the nine-member board.

As Hawaiʻi moves into the future, small leadership changes have the potential to recalibrate the balance of politics in Hawaiʻi and to advance – or hinder – the lives and needs of the people in our community.

Going forward, effort should be made on both sides to build pilina (relationship) between elected officials and their constituents. Developing pilina with lawmakers – understanding who they are and what they stand for – can help to equip and engage voters during election time.

Having an informed, engaged electorate is the best way to advocate for the changes we want and need in our community. And active community engagement in the political process helps lawmakers to better understand the needs and challenges of their constituents – and to help find actual solutions and develop laws and policies that improve the quality of life for all citizens of Hawaiʻi.