LIHU‘E — Everything is set for the General Election Tuesday, according to Lyndon Yoshioka, the Kaua‘i Elections Administrator at the Kaua‘i counting center. On Saturday, Yoshioka was joined by a representative of the voting machines supplier as well as representative
LIHU‘E — Everything is set for the General Election Tuesday, according to Lyndon Yoshioka, the Kaua‘i Elections Administrator at the Kaua‘i counting center.
On Saturday, Yoshioka was joined by a representative of the voting machines supplier as well as representative from the State’s Office of Election as he worked with a group of observers selected by the different political groups on the island.
Although the machines were shipped secured, the group double-checked the machines prior to the deliveries, which will start going out Monday to the different polling places.
Yoshioka said about 60 workers and observers will start appearing at the Kaua‘i counting center from early Tuesday morning as voters take to the polls.
Their primary task at that point would be to open the envelopes and verify the absentee ballots, which have been coming into the Elections Office.
Throughout the final day of Early Voting, which took place Saturday at the historic County Building annex, formerly housing the county’s Public Works Department and the Kaua‘i Police Department Investigative Services Division, people streamed through the doors to complete their patriotic duty.
“People who miss the early voting, or the mail, are able to bring their completed absentee ballot to the polling place until the polling place closes,” said Eddie Topenio, the county’s administrative assistant to the County Clerk.
Polling places open at 7 a.m. and will close at 6 p.m. Tuesday. People who are in line when the doors close at 6 p.m. will be allowed to vote, but the counting process will not start until the final polling place closes across the state.
The state Office of Elections advises voters to avoid long lines at the polls by voting during the non-peak hours of 9 through 11 a.m. and from 1 to 4 p.m.
Hawai‘i state law allows voters who do not have the day off from work two hours of time away from work to vote.
The task of counting ballots at the counting center is broken down into the various stations established in the counting center as equipment needs to be verified, software needs to be tested for integrity and a myriad of other tasks need to be accomplished before the counts are forwarded to state election offices located in Honolulu.
Yoshioka said because of the electronics utilized in voting, everything is secured, including the personnel who work the counting center. “They’re pretty much sequestered until the entire process is done,” Yoshioka said. “That makes for a very long day.”
Visit www.kauai.gov/elections or www.hawaii.gov/elections for more information.
