Molokai Votes

By Kathy Kaohu, Maui County Clerk

Aloha Molokai! Vote 2020 is upon us, and while this election season is being rocked by pandemics, hurricanes and the new system of Mail in Voting, Hawaii’s people have the resiliency to overcome any barriers this may have to casting our votes and participating in this ground-breaking election year.

This week’s message is about where we’ve been, and the potential of where we can go. Below are some Molokai specific voting statistics to better understand where we’ve been.

Let’s start by looking at the 2018 Primary numbers in comparison to 2020, beginning with registered Molokai voters by District/Precinct:

District/Precinct Registered
Voters as of 2018 Primary Election Total Active Registered Voters as of 07/17/20* Total Registered Voters as of 07/17/20*
Kilohana 13/05: 647 587 691
Kaunakakai 13/06: 1,992 1,930 2,124
Maunaloa 13/07: 379 376 423
Kualapu 13/08: 1,243 1,176 1,283
Kalaupapa 13/09: 32 28 36
Totals: 4,293 4,097 4,557

*In Hawaii, registered voters who do not participate in voting over two election cycles will not be counted as active voters. Their name, however, will remain on the Voter Registration lists but will be considered inactive.

Now let’s look at the number of voters casting ballots, with totals combined for ballots cast through voting by mail, early walk in voting and polling places on Election Day. In the 2018 primary, Kilohana precinct had 250 voters casting their ballots or 16.8 percent turnout; Kaunakakai had 833 ballots cast with 14.2 percent turnout of registered voters; Maunaloa had 98 ballots cast, which accounted for 11.9 percent of active registered voters; Kualapu’u had 507 ballots resulting in a 15.7 percent turnout; and Kalaupapa had 19 ballots cast. This totals 1707 Molokai voters casting their ballots in the 2018 Primary election.

Below are the numbers of return ballot envelopes that have been received by our office as of July 22, 2020, listed by District / Precinct:

District/Precinct # of Received Return Ballot Envelopes
As of July 22, 2020
Kilohana 13/05: 52
Kaunakakai 13/06: 239
Maunaloa 13/07: 23
Kualapu 13/08: 137
Kalaupapa 13/09: 10

Totals: 461

Let’s all be diligent and timely by returning our signed return ballot envelope before the Aug. 8, 7 p.m. deadline. Let’s strive to increase the 2020 numbers by at least 30 percent more than the 2018 primary!

Contact the Maui County Office of the County Clerks for assistance at (808) 270-7749 or the State Office of Elections at elections.hawaii.gov.