Special elections bring logistical headaches (Cheatin Democrat Alert)

Cost-cutting methods cause concern about access to the polls 2nd Congressional District polling places

Nick Caleo, a real estate businessman living in Kau on the Big Island, normally goes to Naalehu Elementary School to vote on election day, a 10-minute drive from his house.

But in the upcoming special elections for Congress, that polling place will be closed to save the state money. So Caleo will have to drive an extra 12 miles -- 20 to 25 minutes longer each way -- to Pahala where he is supposed to vote at Kau High School's cafeteria.

But for others in his rural community, voting may create a hardship "because we have some people in our community who don't have ready access to a vehicle as I do or have work schedules that make it more difficult," he said.

As a cost-cutting measure, more than half of the polling places in rural Oahu and on the neighbor islands will be eliminated for the Nov. 30 and Jan. 4 special elections for the 2nd Congressional District seat that became vacant when U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink died Sept. 28.

The first election will fill the remaining weeks of her current term and the second election will select a permanent replacement for the next two-year term.

The consolidation of precincts, to 91 from 192, for the special elections means that about half of the 178,000 potential voters in that race will be voting at new locations.

"Is there going to be confusion? Yes, there is. Is there going to be inconvenience? Yes, there is. But what are you going to do? You have to follow the law and do the best you can," said Hawaii County Clerk Al Konishi.

Some voters are concerned that eliminating precincts will deter people from voting.

Big Island County Councilman Dominic Yagong, who represents the Hamakua District, where polling places are already miles apart, said: "Anytime the electoral process has a perception of being tainted, it undermines democracy as far as I'm concerned."

Yagong said he believes election results could be challenged based on precinct closures, especially in a tight race.

"If you know a precinct is a very strong Republican precinct, and if you were to close that precinct down and have (those voters) travel several miles away to vote, then you may assume that you may lose some voters," Yagong said.

"The distances between precincts are very significant and with an aging population that we have in Hamakua, for example, it's very difficult for folks to travel from one precinct to another when it could easily be 10 to 15 miles away," Yagong said.

"People will go and get frustrated and they'll say, 'Screw it. I won't vote,'" said Republican Bob McDermott, the former state representative running for the seat.

Candidate Ed Case, the former state representative, said he doesn't fault the Office of Elections for trying to save money but the elections fall on busy holiday weekends and he worries about poor turnout.

Case is also urging absentee voting either by mail or at the clerk's office in each county.

"It's just a physical impossibility to get all the polling places we need," Konishi said.

The cost to run a statewide election is about $2 million, but cost-cutting measures and a lone race have brought the latest estimate to about $1.4 million. Critics originally called for the Nov. 30 election to be scrapped because they felt the cost was too high for what they saw as an unnecessary election.

State Elections Office spokesman Rex Quidilla said he is not sure exactly how much the state is saving with the precinct consolidation but the majority of the cost reduction comes from having to hire fewer poll workers.

"Obviously it's staffing. If you reduce the number of polling places, you don't have to recruit as many poll workers, you don't have to pay as many poll workers," Quidilla said.

As far as determining which polls to close and keep open, availability of the facilities and geography were part of the criteria.

"We tried to make some sense in this consolidation and at the same time balance the needs of a considerably smaller election with, of course, the considerations of travel for the voters in those communities," Quidilla said.

Election officials are sending out voter notification cards to let voters know where to vote.

Substitute when, for if. I mean c'mon, this is Hawaii.

Hawaii just elected a Jewish female Republican as its new governor. Hell has indeed frozen over. Don't discount the GOP's chances in a low turnout special election.

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