Maui ensures that county elections are decided in November. Oahu should do the same

Everyone knows that more people vote in general elections than in primaries. So why did the City and County of Honolulu allow all races to be decided in August instead of November?

Oahu voters — the 32% of those who bothered to cast their primary ballots — were allowed to elect a mayor, a district attorney and five city council members this year, but none of those races are even on the general election ballot. They’re already over.

Compare that to Maui, where everyone The county race is always on the general election ballot, no matter what happened in the primary.

Hawaii County, meanwhile, has made many decisions in the primary, but still offers voters a general runoff for mayor and two County Council seats.

And on Kauai, all seven county council positions won’t be filled until November

Why are voters in Honolulu being served nothing burgers while ballots everywhere else offer tempting choices? The culprit is a patchwork of district election laws, with each island applying its own formula for who runs when.

While state laws dictate election procedures for federal and state offices and the legislature, county statutes set the rules for mayors, council members and prosecutors.

Oahu’s blank slate

Thank God for the presidential election, because the rest of the vote on Hawaii’s most populous island isn’t all that convincing. The congressional elections look like the usual slam dunks for incumbents, and there are no gubernatorial elections this year.

Some general elections may be competitive, but this only applies to voters in certain districts.

And yes, there are four proposed amendments to the Honolulu Charter. Unfortunately, nothing would change the voting procedures that can result in all races being decided in the primary.

Things aren’t always so bleak about the elections on Oahu. There were four local council elections in the 2022 general election. And 2020 offered a mixed bag in November: races for mayor, prosecutor and three council positions.

It’s also true that there was a lack of serious challengers to the incumbents this year, which led to Mayor Rick Blangiardi being re-elected in the primary by receiving a majority of the vote in a four-way race.

Councilmember Esther Kiaaina did the same in District 3, while Scott Nishimoto received the majority of votes in a three-person race for the open District 5 race. Council members Andria Tupola, Radiant Cordero and Augie Tulba did not object, as did City Attorney Steve Alm.

Civil Beat opinion writers closely follow efforts to bring greater transparency and accountability to state and local government – ​​in the Legislature, at the county level and in the media. Help us by sending ideas and anecdotes to [email protected].

Still, the Honolulu Charter lays out the election rules that led to this year’s disaster:

• A two-candidate race would lead directly to the general election, but there was none.
• Races with three or more candidates are decided in the primary when someone receives a majority of votes cast.
• Unopposed races are decided in the primary.

Here too, more people vote in November. So this is not a good situation if we want a larger portion of the electorate to decide who will lead Honolulu. Voter turnout in Oahu was 40.6% in the 2022 primary election and 48.9% in the general election. In 2020 it was 52.2% for primary school and 70.1% for general school.

Another reason Honolulu’s charter should be changed: Things can happen between August and November that could change the mood of voters.

This year has seen a spike in gun violence on the Westside. This should have been a campaign issue, asking the mayor, council members and city attorney to explain their approaches to the issue before residents vote in the general election.

The other counties

The Honolulu Charter Commission wouldn’t have to look far to find a better way because Maui County has figured this out. Its rules ensure that district races are never decided in the primary.

Unhindered racing? Straight to the general.

Two-person competition? Straight to the general.

Three or more candidates? The top two advance to the general even if one of them receives a majority of all votes cast in the primary.

As a result, all nine Maui County Council elections in November are on the ballot and will be decided by a higher percentage of the electorate (there is no race for mayor or district attorney this year).

With seven members instead of nine, the Kauai County Council is a whole different beast. All 17 candidates were placed in the same primary pool, from which 14 emerged to run in the general election.

All council positions are at-large positions, so every Kauai voter in November is presented with a lavish menu of 14 choices and allowed to choose seven.

Hawaii County conducts its elections similarly to Honolulu, so there is always the possibility that the Big Island will also be excluded from the general election. There is no teasing, because this year there is a mayoral race and two council elections in the November election.

But considering that seven of the nine races were decided in the primary, the Charter Commission should also consider changes.

Council members’ terms are two years in all counties except Honolulu, where their terms are four years. That’s another reason Oahu’s election should be decided in November – voters only get a chance to fill these positions every four years.

More could be done across the country

Many other electoral reforms are needed in Hawaii, where the benefits of incumbency discourage challenges at all levels of government.

Expanding public funding options for candidates would help tremendously, which may be why all the incumbents in the Legislature just couldn’t bring themselves to do it.

With its one-party dominance, Hawaii is also a prime contender for moving to a top-two primary, where everyone gets the same ballot and the top two vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of party.

In this world, for example, the heavyweight Democratic primary between House Speaker Scott Saiki and his challenger, Kim Coco Iwamoto, would have been decided by more voters in the general election.

More interesting races bring higher participation. But even in a low-interest election season like this, there’s really no excuse for letting nonpartisan county elections be decided in August instead of November.