Maui Election

Lieutenant Governor Shan Tsutsui of Maui made his candidacy official by filing his nomination papers at the state Office of Elections in Honolulu, and kicking off his campaign with a sign waving event on South Beretania Street on Thursday afternoon.

Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa officially entered the 2014 mayor’s race by filing his nomination papers seeking re-election for another term on Friday morning.

Hawaiʻi voters will soon have the opportunity to register to vote at early voting sites and polling places, under a measure that gained final passage in the Hawaiʻi Legislature.

Governor Neil Abercrombie and former governor John Waiheʻe will headline a Democrat lūʻau fundraiser hosted by the Maui County Democratic Party at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 3, 2014, at the Pu’u Kukui Elementary School Dining Room in Wailuku.

House Bill 2590 would allow voter registration at absentee polling places beginning in 2016; and late voter registration, including on election day, beginning in 2018.

Currently, there are no early walk-in voting sites on the island of Lānaʻi. The only walk-in locations in the county in the past election cycle were at the Kalana O Maui Building in Wailuku, and the Mitchell Pauole Center on the Island of Molokaʻi.

A total of 24 Maui residents have pulled papers for the upcoming 2014 elections since the candidate filing period began on Feb. 3.

Representative Kaniela Ing of Maui, who introduced the bill noted that Hawaiʻi has the lowest voter turnout in the nation. He said this challenge could jeopardize the effectiveness of Hawaiʻi’s democratic process.

HB321, introduced by Maui freshman Senator Kaniela Ing is aimed at increasing the state’s low voter turnout.

In the State House, Representative-elect, Kaniela Ing becomes the youngest legislator to win election from Maui this year. The 23-year-old Kihei resident managed to oust incumbent Rep. George Fontaine, 52, in last night’s General Election.

Maui voters said “NO” to a proposed amendment that sought to increase council terms from two to four years.

Maui’s voter turnout of 56.8% on General Election Day remained the lowest in the state, but above 2010 levels, and about 3,144 votes shy of the stronger 61% turnout during the last presidential election in 2008.

Maui has a new state representative and two new council members following yesterday’s 2012 general election.

After an initial waiting game, voters across the state finally saw the first summary report released during the 8 p.m. hour.

Results for Maui County and state-wide have been released – see the full breakdowns here.

View live coverage of Maui’s general election here.

State Elections Office spokesman Rex Quidilla said all of Maui’s polling places opened on time, and officials had not heard of any problems in Maui County as of 11:15 a.m.

Pacific Radio Group will be offering live results coverage again this year in coordination with the University of Hawaii Maui College. The broadcast will be carried LIVE on MC-TV Channel 55 and KNUI AM 900, from 5:30 p.m. until the final results for Maui are tallied.

Pacific Radio Group will be offering live results coverage again this year in coordination with the University of Hawaii Maui College. The broadcast will be carried on MCTV Channel 55 and KNUI AM 900, from 5:30 p.m. until the final results for Maui are tallied.

An estimated 500 people attended a Maui Democratic Party rally at the Maui Tropical Plantation on Saturday afternoon.