When asked how he expected the voting process to go today, County Clerk Peter Nakamura said simply, “We know what we have to do.”
And according to officials at several voting precincts in the Lihu‘e area, he was right; the process could not have gone more smoothly.
Nakamura said that a full 86 percent of voters who received absentee ballots returned them completed. Officials cited this, in addition to early walk-in voting, as a factor that helped reduce long lines, adding that even during early morning peak hours voters were forced to wait just a half an hour, if that.
According to Francis Valdez, Chairman of the 15-04 precinct at Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School, each of Kaua‘i County’s 17 districts was equipped with a DRE, or direct recording electronic voting machine, in addition to the more familiar paper ballots.
“It’s easy to use,” said Valdez. “People familiar with computers seem to like using it. You just spin the wheel to the candidate you want.”
Valdez noted a number of improvements since prior elections — from a more inviting arrangement of voting booths to improvements in the DRE software — that have helped make this year’s voting a simpler, more enjoyable experience. He did however mention one voting glitch that has yet to be resolved. “Some people vote for two, or even four, presidential candidates,” he said. “And then we have to send them back to the booth to do it right.”
“Oh yes, we’ve seen that too. People have voted for two presidents,” said election official Lilia Valdez at the Kaua‘i War Memorial Convention Hall. Long-time volunteer, retired teacher, and wife to election official Francis Valdez, she agreed that the DRE voting machines were an improvement over paper ballots. “You make a mistake, and it tells you,” she said. “We encourage people to use that one (the DRE machine) if it’s open.”
The County Clerk’s Office has been available to respond to problems, and at least a couple Kaua‘i voters have voiced complaints. Sarah Valadez, a 20-year-old Oma‘o resident and first-time voter, expressed frustration over her “missing” voter registration. According to Valadez, although she carefully filled out a “voter affidavit” (a convenient way to register to vote) at the Kaua‘i Department of Motor Vehicles, it was lost in the system without explanation. Undeterred, she learned from a national voter-assistance hotline that she could request a provisional ballot at her assigned precinct. So she headed straight to the Koloa Neighborhood Center to cast her vote.
“I was very ecstatic to have the chance to voice my opinion,” Valadez said.
Rafael Andeya of Lihu‘e said that after seeing mayoral candidate JoAnn Yukimura walking into the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall accompanied by a KGMB9 news crew just after noon, he became livid — so much so that he confronted the candidate. Andeya, who describes himself as politically conservative, insisted that the presence of the news team constituted a violation of the rule prohibiting electioneering within 200 feet of precinct premises.
Lilia Valdez said the news crew requested to shoot footage while Yukimura votes, the same thing it did with Bernard Carvalho. It was all cleared with the County Clerk’s Office.
Valdez showed obvious pride describing her role in facilitating the democratic process, and spoke of one voter who, after recently losing her elderly mother only days ago, still managed to make it to the convention hall to cast her vote. “She had tears in her eyes, but she made it here anyway,” she said.
Like the County Clerk and his staff and all the volunteers who dedicated time and energy for the betterment of democracy, some voters saw this election as too important to miss out on. You could say they were compelled to participate, even if doing so was difficult. In other words, they knew what they had to do.
• Luke Shanahan, business writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or lshanahan@kauaipubco.com
