Hawaii

The deadline to cure (correct) your absentee ballot is November 13, 2024. Local election officials will attempt to notify you by first-class mail, telephone, or electronic mail to inform you of the procedure to correct a deficiency if you need to cure your ballot. If you voted on a provisional ballot, you can verify its status using your state’s online tool. 

For information on federal campaign contributions, please visit Open Secrets.

For information on state campaign contributions, please visit Hawaii's Campaign Spending Commission.

Information on local, state and federal candidates and ballot measures may be available here.

Your clerk’s office, Voter Services Centers, and Places of Deposit are established for voters to drop off their voted mail ballot packet to be collected by the County Elections Division.

VOTER SERVICE CENTERS: Voter Service Centers will be open in each county beginning ten (10) business days before the election. Voter Service Centers provide accessible in-person voting, same day voter registration, and collection of voted ballots. Voter service centers are open ten business days prior to the election and on Election Day.

To find the location of a Voter Service Center in your county of residence go to elections.hawaii.gov or contact your city or county clerk.

PLACES OF DEPOSIT: Places of deposit are established beginning ten (10) business days before the election for voters to drop off their voted mail ballot packet to be collected by the County Elections Division. The locations and hours of operation are can be found here or by contacting your local city or county clerk.

The next election date can be found here https://www.vote411.org/hawaii.

Contact your local Board of Elections for information about local elections.

To be eligible to vote, you must be:

• A United States Citizen
• A legal resident of Hawaii
• At least 16 years of age, but you must be 18 years of age on the day of the election to vote*
• Not be an incarcerated felon
• Not be adjudicated mentally incompetent

*You may pre-register at 16 years old. However, you may not vote in any election until you have reached at least 18 years of age.

Incarcerated Voters & Returning Citizens: 

In Hawaii, you only lose your right to vote if you are currently incarcerated for a felony conviction. If you lost your voting rights because of a conviction, you could register to vote immediately after release. Your voting rights are not restricted by pretrial detention, misdemeanors, probation, or parole. 

Voters without traditional residence: 

To determine your voting district, it is necessary to provide a residential address when filling out the Voter Registration Application. The address can be any identifiable location within the county that accurately represents your physical whereabouts. If the residence lacks a specific street address, descriptors such as cross streets or landmarks may be provided. On the application, you have the option to indicate a PO Box or alternative mail service, such as general delivery, as your mailing address. 

Hawaii offers same-day registration at voter service centers. 

Voters will be asked for their state driver's license number, state identification number or the last four digits of their Social Security number on the registration form. If you do not have one of these forms of identification indicate so in box 3B of the registration form.

Poll workers may ask you provide a photo ID with a signature. However, this is not required in order to vote. If you have no ID you will be asked to give your date of birth and address to the poll worker in order to verify the information in the poll book.

Identification is required of first-time voters who register by mail and do not provide proof of identification with their application. Acceptable forms of ID include any current and valid photo ID, a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or other government document that shows your name and address.

Voters can call or text 844-338-8743 at any time to reach VoteRiders Voter ID Helpline

Official results are never available on Election Day. Election officials are working around the clock to count an unprecedented number of ballots, and it’s essential that they take the time to make sure every vote is counted.

Mailed ballots begin being counted on Election Day. Provisional ballots are counted in 20 days after Election Day,

Official election results will be uploaded on Hawaii’s Office of Elections website, no later than the last day of November.

You are a Military or Overseas voter if you are in uniformed services, living overseas, OR a spouse or dependent of a uniformed services voter. To get registered and vote, you can utilize the Federal Voting Assistance Program at FVAP.gov.

If you have additional questions about elections and voting overseas, you can use our state-specific elections official directory or contact the Federal Voting Assistance Program at FVAP.gov.

Hawaii conducts elections by mail, meaning the need for poll workers is generally lower than in many other states. However, other volunteer opportunities for upcoming elections may be available. Submit your information to be contacted about volunteer opportunities for future elections here. To learn more, contact your local board of elections.

The polls will be open from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm.

You can find your polling place by utilizing your state's resource.

If you have further questions on your polling place location, please contact your city or county clerk.

Hawaii is an “open primary” state. You can choose the party’s ballot you wish to vote. This decision does not register you with that party and it is a private decision.

If you have any questions about your state’s primary election, please contact your local election officials.

You may vote a provisional ballot if you meet specific conditions.

The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) establishes the right for a voter to cast a provisional ballot if:

• Voter's name does not appear on the official list of registered voters; or
• An election official asserts that the voter is not eligible to vote.

CASTING A PROVISIONAL BALLOT: A voter is permitted to cast a provisional ballot upon completing a written affirmation stating that the individual is:

• A registered voter in the jurisdiction in which the individual desires to vote; and
• Eligible to vote in that election.

The Clerk's Office will determine if a provisional ballot is to be counted in accordance with State Law. The voter will be able to verify if the ballot did or did not count, and if it was not counted, the reason why can be found by calling a toll-free number provided or through the Office of Elections website at elections.hawaii.gov.

If you are a long stay patient at a care home or a patient unexpectedly admitted to a hospital, you are still eligible to vote. To ensure the security and integrity of election related activities at care facilities, staff members are discouraged from participating directly with a voter in the process of registering and/or voting absentee. Staff may assist only upon receiving specific authorization from the resident (voter). When asked by a voter to give assistance, care facility staff must remain nonpartisan and have at least two people NOT of the same political party present. This will help eliminate the appearance of any election irregularities while assisting a voter. In addition, staff should:

• Always be mindful of the voting rights of patients as well as their family members
• Refrain from explicit or implicit discriminatory or coercive voter registration practices, as both are prohibited
• Not collect completed voter registration forms unless specific authorization is provided by the clerk or chief election officer
• Mail requests for an absentee ballot directly to the local clerk
• Not copy, duplicate or otherwise make use of any information provided on registration forms. Information provided by the voter on the affidavit for registration is confidential
• If acting as an intermediary to pick up an absentee ballot, obtain a letter of authorization from the registered voter and submit it to the clerk
• Ensure that no one asks a voter to see or look at the contents of a voted ballot or choice of party
• Ensure that no one marks a voter's ballot or directs a voter without authorization
• Not attempt to vote in the name of the patient without specific authorization, as it is illegal

If you require assistance to vote by reason of physical, visual, hearing impairment or inability to read or write, you may be given assistance by a person of the your choice, except for your employer, an agent of your employer, or officer or agent of your union.

Accessible Ballot Marking Device

Voters can now use Verity Touch Writer to mark, print and cast their ballots at Voter Service Centers. The printed ballot is the same as the one used by all voters whether at the voter service center or by mail. Click here to view a video of the Verity Touch Writer.

For more information, you can utilize the American Association of People With Disabilities (AAPD) resource.

Hawaii now offers same-day registration! You may register and vote at an Early Walk-In Voting location or at your voting service centers on Election Day. You will be asked to complete the registration affidavit and provide physical identification. Acceptable forms of ID are:

• Hawaii State ID
• Hawaii Driver's License
• Military ID
• Passport
• Current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government-issued document showing name and address

Mailed voter registration applications must be postmarked ten days before Election Day (extended to the next business day if this falls on the weekend).

You can now register to vote online! Just follow the directions on this site to complete your registration application. You must have a current Hawaii driver's license or state ID card to register online.

Employers must give employees two hours to vote, unless polls are open 2 hours before or after regular working shift. This time is paid, with proof that the vote has been cast.

To verify your voter registration status

All registered voters will automatically receive a mail ballot about 18 days before the election. The ballots are mailed to the address on your registration form, so if you have moved, changed your name or any other updates, please be sure to update your voter registration.

All voted ballots must be received (either by mail, in person, or at a drop box) by 7pm on Election Day in order to be counted.

You can sign up to track your mail ballot on your Office of Elections website.  

For more information on the vote-by-mail process, please click here.

The voting machine systems used in Hawaii are optical scan and DRE.

Optical Scan: With this system, you will receive a card or sheet of paper, which you take over to a private table or booth. The card has the names of the various candidates and ballot measures printed on it. With a pen or pencil you fill in a little box or circle or the space between two arrows. When you are finished filling out all the cards, you may bring the cards over to a ballot box, where poll workers will show you how to put the cards in the box. Or in some places, you may feed the completed cards or papers into a computer device that checks your card or paper right there at the polling place to make sure you have voted the way you want to and counts the votes.

Direct Recording Electronic (DRE): This is the newest kind of system in use in the U.S. All the information about who and what you are voting for is on an electronic screen like a TV or computer screen.

There are many variations of DREs because lots of companies are inventing new ones, and many cities, counties and states are trying them out. Usually, after you have signed in, the poll workers will give you a card that you slide into a device to start your voting session.

Some of these devices will show all of the candidates and ballot choices on one big screen. Often, with these big screen devices you push a button next to the name of the candidate you want to vote for (or yes or no on a ballot measure). On other DREs, the screen is set up to show pages. On each screen or page, there will probably be one thing to vote on. For example, on one screen or page, you might vote for president. Then you might move to the next page to vote for senator. Often these small-screen devices have a touch screen, where you touch the screen next to the name of the person you want to vote for. Other devices have a key pad. And some have a keyboard, so you can write in the name of someone you want to vote for.

You let the system know you are finished voting by pushing a button, touching the screen or entering something on a keypad.

You can learn more about voting systems by checking out the Elections Assistance Commission's (EAC) resource or through Verified Voting.