Democratic caucus sees high turnout

Hawaii County Democrats turned out in force Saturday to cast their votes for their party’s presidential nominee, selecting Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton by an overwhelming margin.

Rough tallies shortly after all precincts had reported indicated just under 6,000 votes for Sanders and about 1,600 votes for Clinton, according to Hawaii County Democratic Party chair Phil Barnes.

“It’s a big day for Bernie, that’s for sure,” Barnes said.

Statewide results were not available as of press time.

At the Keaau Community Center, some voters arrived at 11 a.m., an hour before the doors opened to sign-in or register to vote, and two hours before voting itself began.

By 12:15 p.m., the line wrapped around the center and was spilling over onto the adjacent elderly housing property.

Sanders’ supporters brought homemade signs and sported Bernie buttons, and, in one case, a Bernie tie.

Patrick Woody of Mountain View, one of the early arrivals, said he’d never turned out for the caucuses before but was excited to cast his vote — in his case, for Sanders.

“It’s a crucial time,” said Shawn Farnsworth, also of Mountain View and a Sanders supporter.

Primary voting for the Hawaii Democratic Party is conducted via presidential preference poll, which is similar to a caucus but features secret balloting.

Party volunteers said turnout reminded them of President Barack Obama’s first campaign, noting that new candidates and a new race tend to bring out larger crowds.

“When Obama ran, in his first term, it was huge,” said Ann Ebesuzo, who along with Ainoa Naniole was helping voters check in. “This is kind of similar.”

During the 2008 caucus, polls were “swamped,” Barnes recalled. More than 5,800 Hawaii Island Democrats voted that day.

“And now we’re way over that,” Barnes said. “It’s impressive.”

He said that new voter turnout — only registered Hawaii Democrats can participate in the polling — was much higher than anticipated.

“Way more than I thought,” he said. “At least 2-1 new voters — it was a huge turnout.” Many in line were also registering to vote for the first time: “A good day for democracy,” Barnes said.

Because so many people were registering or signing up with the party, lines were slow to move. In Keaau, voter Gerry Boswell bought three cases of water bottles to hand out to those waiting. People carried umbrellas to shade themselves from the sunny day.

In Wainaku, where Barnes was stationed, voters got through in a couple of hours.

“Compared to a lot of the caucuses, that’s pretty fair,” he said.

Brooke Adamson, 17, of Mountain View had already registered as a Hawaii Democrat, and at 12:30 p.m. was waiting in line with parents Damon and Trista to check in for her first election.

Adamson turns 18 in October, just in time for the general election, and so is eligible for Democrat caucusing as well.

She wore a Bernie 2016 button, and cited Sanders’ longtime commitment to his causes as her reason for supporting the Vermont senator.

“He’s been so constant with his views,” Adamson said.

“There were a lot more young people than we usually see,” Barnes said. “All across the country, Sanders has been a big draw for young people, so we expected that.”

Clinton drew endorsements from Hawaii Democrats such as U.S. Senators Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz, U.S. Rep. Mark Takai, and former Govs. George Ariyoshi and Ben Cayetano prior to the Saturday election.

Sanders was supported by U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned from her position as vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee to do so.

Hawaii will send 25 delegates and 10 superdelegates to July’s Democratic Convention in Philadelphia. The 25 delegates are allocated proportionally, while the superdelegates can vote for whomever they choose.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Email Ivy Ashe at iashe@hawaiitribune-herald.com.