Editorial for Tuesday — February 24, 2004

• Democratic caucus

Democratic caucus

Hawai‘i usually gets the short end of the stick when it comes to national elections. We are at the end of the time zones, with East Coast voting well along by the time our polls are just opening.

We’ve also taken a back seat in national primary season, with Iowa, New Hampshire and other mainland states playing the leading role in determining who the front running candidate will be as the primaries begin.

Not this year, at least in the Democratic Party. Tonight long-time and brand new members of the Democratic Party are gathering for quick, 30-minute caucuses across the Island.

As in other primaries, the results from precinct-level voting in Kaua‘i County and in other counties in Hawai‘i should be reported both locally and on the national news sometime the next day. The winner of the statewide caucus polling will get a boost in their quest for the Democratic presidential nomination. This might be the front-runner, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, or it could be John Edwards of North Carolina, or perhaps a surprise winner.

No matter who wins in tonight’s Hawai‘i caucus polling, the state will be a winner on the national political scene as the caucus votes for once will play a role in determining the field for November, or in helping to narrow the decision on a Democratic nomination into the summertime at the Democratic National Convention in Boston.

It is pretty far fetched to think that federal election officials might consider letting Hawai‘i vote the day before the national vote begins, or let polls open here in the early morning hours to make up for the six-hour time gap with the East Coast. However, bringing our state-level party delegations into the mainstream of presidential primaries should keep us from being totally covered with victory confetti while we’re on the way to the polling booth, at least during the primary season.