Hawaii County voters are adding to their numbers at a faster rate than the state as a whole. ADVERTISING Hawaii County voters are adding to their numbers at a faster rate than the state as a whole. Some 856 Hawaii
Hawaii County voters are adding to their numbers at a faster rate than the state as a whole.
Some 856 Hawaii County residents have been added to the voter rolls since the Aug. 9 primary election, a statistic expected to grow as registrations continue trickling in following Monday’s voter registration deadline.
As of Tuesday, Hawaii County’s voter rolls contained 105,179 names, according to county Elections Administrator Pat Nakamoto. That’s a 4.1 percent increase compared to the 2010 General Election, the last nonpresidential election year.
Statewide, about 705,300 people have registered to vote in the General Election, said Michael Sunouchi, an elections specialist for the City and County of Honolulu, which tallies the state numbers. That’s a 2.1 percent increase from the 2010 General Election, when 690,748 voters were registered.
There were 104,323 registered voters in Hawaii County in 2012 and 705,668 statewide.
Sunouchi noted mail-in registration had to be postmarked by Monday, so he’s expecting the numbers to grow throughout the week.
“We’re still inputting them,” he said.
Early walk-in voting starts Oct. 21 and runs through Oct. 31, Nakamoto said. The county also added a Pahoa site for early voting. The Puna districts had a particularly hard time during the primary, when Tropical Storm Iselle felled hundreds of trees, blocking access to the polls on Election Day.
“The County of Hawaii will now have five absentee walk-in sites with the opening of the site in Pahoa at the Nanawale Community Center,” Nakamoto said.
The Pahoa site will be open 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Saturday, she said.
In Hilo, early walk-in voting is available at the Aupuni Center Conference Room, located at 101 Pauahi St., between 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
The Pahala Community Center, located at 96-1149 Kamani St., will be open for early walk-in voting between 9 a.m.-3 p.m, with the exception of a lunch hour between noon-1 p.m. Monday through Friday.
In South Kohala, early walk-in voting is available at the Waimea Community Center, located at 65-1260 Kawaihae Road, between 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m.-noon Saturday.
Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.
