Lifetime Hawai‘i resident Sy Heen Shim will not vote this year. “And I’m from a very political family,” Shim said. “I’ve been holding campaign signs on the side of the road since I was 5 years old.” Shim’s mother ran
Lifetime Hawai‘i resident Sy Heen Shim will not vote this year.
“And I’m from a very political family,” Shim said. “I’ve been holding campaign signs on the side of the road since I was 5 years old.”
Shim’s mother ran for House of Representatives and City Council on O‘ahu. He has an uncle who is a trustee of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and was once a federal judge and his grandfather Ernest Heen was a House representative.
“My grandfather wrote the law that requires beach access every 275 yards,” he said. “Originally it was written as no homes on the makai side of the street but they revised it.”
It was just this year the youngest child of a family of seven decided not to participate. His non-participation decision came with the desecration of the grave site in Wainiha.
“To vote in something that has no jurisdiction makes no sense to me,” he said. “The injustice is still happening to the Hawaiian people. Even my uncle can’t show me where the United States has taken over jurisdiction of Hawai‘i — even our own president acknowledged that Hawai‘i was taken over illegally.”
Reasons community members choose not to vote vary. For some new to the island it may have to do with a lack of familiarity with Hawai‘i politics. Newly arrived Oregon resident Sundee Cline said she wasn’t familiar with the issues.
“I’m new to the state so the policies aren’t clear to me,” Cline said.
On a broader note though, Cline expressed dissent on a national level.
“I have voter apathy because the candidate I prefer is a slam dunk — Barack Obama. If I were in a swing state I’d feel more of a sense of urgency.”
Also new to Kaua‘i is Glenn Barr of Kapahi who considers himself politically active.
“But I just moved here two weeks ago and as soon as I know who’s who and what’s what I’ll vote in the next one,” he said.
One long-time Kaua‘i resident who preferred to remain nameless said that he is trying to extract himself from the system by not registering to vote or even get a driver’s license. He did confess to the temptation to reconsider this decision due to the “pivotal nature of this election in particular.”
On a logistical note, one single mother said she just didn’t have the time.
“Being a single mom, plus the price of gas and rent being too high — there’s just a lot of bills to pay,” said Davelyn Guyer of Lihu‘e. “I don’t have a car. When I’m not working I’m with my daughter.”
