Around the newsroom, today is being called “elimination Saturday.” Today, Saturday, Sept. 18, only a handful of candidates will be eliminated from the lists of those seeking elected office at the Tuesday, Nov. 2 general election. Just three of the
Around the newsroom, today is being called “elimination Saturday.” Today, Saturday, Sept. 18, only a handful of candidates will be eliminated from the lists of those seeking elected office at the Tuesday, Nov. 2 general election.
Just three of the 17 council candidates will be eliminated, with the top 14 vote-getters advancing to the general election. Either challenger John Friedman or state Rep. Ezra Kanoho will not survive the Democratic primary race for the state House seat covering areas from Wailua to Koloa. And the number of state Board of Education candidates for the Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau seat will be pared from three to two, with the choices being Margaret “Maggie” Cox, William “Bill” Georgi and Dr. Mitsugi Nakashima.
Also, two of the four candidates vying for the Big Island BOE seat will not advance beyond tomorrow’s primary. Grouped together for voting purposes only are all Neighbor Island voters when it comes to Neighbor Island BOE seats, meaning voters from all the Neighbor Island counties vote today for both the Kaua‘i and Big Island BOE candidates. The Maui BOE representative is in the middle of a four-year term, so is not up for re-election this year.
In broader challenges, the Democrats will see one candidate emerge in the U.S. Senate race for the seat held by U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawai‘i, with two challenging the entrenched incumbent, while there are also primary choices for U.S. senator among nonpartisan and Republican candidates, and Republican and Democratic choices among those running for the U.S. House seat representing the Neighbor Islands and rural O‘ahu (the seat held by Democrat Ed Case).
The only Kaua‘i candidate with a free pass into office is Craig A. De Costa, the county first deputy prosecuting attorney, who is running unopposed for prosecuting attorney and with one vote today is elected to a four-year term.
Actually, since he likely got some mail-in or walk-in absentee votes, he is already elected.
So while state elections officials are concerned there will be a low voter turnout statewide today, the facts seem to indicate that there are reasons to cast votes at the primary election.
“It’s always important to vote,” said Peter Nakamura, county clerk and the island’s top elections official. “People say it’s civic duty, civic responsibility. I think it’s all of those things, too.”
Additionally, voting is an act of being a role model to younger Kauaians, he said. “Part of it is almost being a role model. It’s a fundamental right of democracy, and it needs to be exercised,” Nakamura continued.
“It’s citizen engagement in democracy.”
Most voters also take the time and effort to understand the issues and the candidates, and have a basic understanding of how government works, he said.
The two-sided primary election ballot includes nonpartisan races on one side (BOE, council and prosecuting attorney choices), and the by-party races on the other side.
Voters must understand that on the by-party side of the ballot, voting must remain within one party only. For example, if votes are cast for Republican races, no votes can be cast for Democratic contests.
Voting for candidates in more than one party on the by-party side of the ballot will result in a spoiled ballot that will be spit out by the electronic ballot-counting machines set up at each polling place.
Walk-in absentee balloting ended Thursday, with over 2,500 Kauaians voting absentee walk-in at the historic County Building in Lihu‘e.
Paul C. Curtis, associate editor, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net.
