Maui Election

Maui County Councilmember Kelly King, who finished third in the Primary race for mayor, announced her endorsement on Tuesday of retired Judge Richard Bissen. The announcement comes as election ballots head to the homes of registered voters this week.

Hawaiʻi voters should expect to receive their mail ballot packet for the 2022 General Election by Friday, Oct. 21. The mail ballot packet contains your official General Election ballot, an optional secrecy sleeve, and a postage paid return ballot envelope.

Candidate interviews conducted by the Kula Community Association will be aired on Akakū Maui Community Media on channels 54 and 55 between Oct. 19-28, 2022.

Campaign event listings are posted here: Bissen gets Carepenter’s Union endorsement; Victorino receives HSTA endorsement; Friends of Tasha Kama to host Talk Story Dinner, Oct. 26.

The West Maui Taxpayers Association hosts a General Candidates Night, tonight, Oct. 13, 2022. The event features a meet and greet at 3:30 p.m. at the Lahaina Civic Center Social Hall, followed by the program which begins at 5 p.m., and a broadcast at 5:30 p.m. on Akakū.

Former Congresswoman and 2020 Presidential Candidate Tulsi Gabbard announced that she is leaving the Democratic Party.

Hawaiʻi voters can sign up to receive text, email, or voice alerts letting them know where their ballot is in the voting process. 

Maui Mayoral candidates will answer questions from a panel of noted Maui reporters Saturday, Oct. 15, during a live Akakū broadcast from Seabury Hall in Makawao.

A newly released financial impact analysis of proposed Maui Charter amendments shows the county would face $2 million in additional annual financial impacts for an amendment proposal related to the creation of a separate Housing Department dedicated to affordable housing.

Mayor Victorino hosts a talk story session about Maui County’s post-pandemic progress and future plans. The Bissen Movement announced the Maui Chamber of Commerce (COMPAC) has endorsed Richard Bissen for Maui County mayor.

The Board of Directors and Political Action Committee of the Maui Hotel & Lodging Association announced its endorsements for state and county candidates in the 2022 General Election. 

Political hui, ‘Onipa’a 2022, announced the launch of their district tour, with a first public event set for Monday, Sept. 26, 2022 in Kīhei. The hui includes Maui County Council candidates Noelani Ahia, Nara Boone, Jordan Hocker, Gabe Johnson, Robin Knox, Tamara Paltin, Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, and Shane Sinenci.

Voter turnout in Maui County was 34.8% for the 2022 Primary Election, with 39,493 ballots cast out of 113,427 registered voters.  

Late Saturday night, Maui native Nohe U’u-Hodgins was ahead in the race for the Maui County Council Makawao-Haʻikū-Pāʻia residency seat, which is being vacated by Council Member Mike Molina, who is running for mayor. Both the Makawao-Haʻikū-Pāʻia and the Kahului residency seats are hotly contested council races. Residents throughout the county may vote for all nonpartisan council races, regardless of the residency seat. 

“It was a little sad to see the first results,” Maui County Council Member Kelly King said via phone from her watch party in Kahului this evening. “It was really so positive. People really wanted a choice. I don’t think there’s that big of a difference between Bissen and Victorino.”

Check back for up to date election results, which will be posted here as updates are received throughout this evening and into tomorrow, with Maui updates listed first.

With a handful of people showing up after Maui’s only voter service center in Wailuku closed at 4:30 p.m. Friday, some said they were confused about hours and drop-off locations for this year’s Primary Elections, which closes tonight at 7. Maui Now has compiled tips for voting last minute in Maui County.

Harry Brown, Waiehu Kou Hawaiian Home Lands resident, said he’s voting this year because local elections are important to local people — like him. “Not only is it a right, it’s an opportunity for me to voice my concern, my choosing,” he said this afternoon. “I figure if I don’t vote, no grumble.” As of Thursday, there were 25,050 mail ballots processed by the County of Maui Office of the County Clerk, Deputy County Clerk James Krueger said this afternoon. In 2020, there were 43,257 mailed ballots in the primary.

Three candidates for Maui County mayor unveiled Saturday what they would do to manage tourism during a time when the islands have reopened to near-record numbers of visitors.

Some of the top candidates vying for Maui County mayor blasted this year’s budget as “bloated” while hitting other key local topics such as affordable housing, tourism management and homelessness.