How to Vote

On Election day

Voter registration is required to participate in Hawaii elections. Applications must be received or be postmarked not later than 30 days prior to the election.

Make sure that you appear to vote at your proper polling place. Refer to your Voter Notification and Address Confirmation Postcard (Yellow Card) for polling place information. If your address is outdated on the voter registry, you will be redirected to your new polling location on election day.

Hawaii conducts combined federal, state, and local elections during even numbered years. Hawaii does not conduct a presidential preference primary election.

Voters may cast a paper ballot (that is digitally scanned and tabulated) or vote on a direct recording electronic voting machines with a verifiable paper audit log. On the paper ballot, voters are instructed to completely darken a voting position target next to their elections.

By Absentee ballot

Any properly registered voter may vote by absentee mail ballot or at an early voting location (absentee walk in). The absentee walk in polling places will be open 10 working days before each election. Voted absentee mail ballots must be received by the City Clerk by 6:00 p.m. on election day in order to be counted.

Access for Persons With Disabilities

All polling places on the island of Oahu are accessible to persons with disabilities either physically or via administrative means. All polling places will contain at least one direct recording electronic voting device to allow voters with certain disabilities to vote independently.

Any voter who requires assistance to vote by reason of physical, visual, or hearing disability, or an inability to read or write may be given assistance by a person of the voter's choice - other than the voter's employer, agent of the employer, or agent of the voter's union (42 U.S.C. 1973aa-6)

Office of the City Clerk, TTY - 808 768-3848 (No voice calls are answered on this number)

Voter Privacy

Transparency is the cornerstone of the integrity of the elections process. All 50 states make certain voter information available for campaigning and election purposes. Hawaii law allows for the release of voter information such as name, address, and district information for these purposes. This information is available to entities that meet the election purposes set forth in Hawaii Administrative Rules §2-51-31.

Upon registering to vote and requesting an absentee ballot, Hawaii law requires the voter to provide certain personal information to verify eligibility and to ensure the integrity of the elections process. This information is collected under authority of Hawaii Revised Statutes §11-15 and Section 7 of the Privacy Act. Personal data such as social security number and date of birth are required by law and will not be sold or displayed publicly at the polls. Personal information is used to maintain the integrity of the Hawaii voter rolls and the elections process by preventing fraud, duplicate registrations and voting.

Hawaii state law designates the Office of the City Clerk as the custodian of voter records. As stewards of voters' personal information, the Elections Division employs various physical and procedural safeguards to ensure that personal information is secured.