Hawaii votes by mail. This is from the State of Hawaii Office of Elections.
Each registered voter will automatically receive their ballot in the mail by:
Primary Election: July 26, 2022
General Election: October 21, 2022Voters who are away from their Hawaii residence during the election may submit an Absentee Application to have their ballot mailed to an alternate mailing address for the primary election, general election, or both.
I love this. No waiting in lines in the hot sun. Everyone in Hawaii who is a registered voter gets their ballot in the mail.
Art, especially, is very serious about voting. We've watched the debates and read articles in the newspaper. We've both changed our minds several times. We've talked to friends to get their opinion. Some of the TV campaign ads we see are rather obnoxious and we suspect purchased by PACs.
There's one cute ad by Vicky Cayetano. She is running for governor. Her husband, Ben was once governor and is not popular with a segment of our population. She used to be Republican before 1997 but switched to the Democratic Party after her marriage to Ben in 1997. Her ad shows her with a quiet Ben saying how they don't agree on everything. She might like ice cream, he likes poi. She likes poodles, he likes bulldogs. (I can't remember the ad exactly but it's along these lines.) It's just cute how she's spent two ads showing how differently they think and that she will do what she thinks is best.
It sure wasn't easy.
But we've done it and our ballots are in the mail.
I really think this is the way to go and I hope other states will do this too. What is it like in your state?
I live in Kansas..which is deeply Republican but I Ihave never voted the party .I make up my mind after studying the candidate. We have a Democrat governor and I voted for her..
ReplyDeleteHope it goes well!
ReplyDeleteMissouri goes out of their way to make it difficult to vote by mail.
ReplyDeleteElections and voting often seem so complicated in the USA. We mark our X and go home.
ReplyDeleteOh how I wish we had that here. We can request absentee but there is no general mail out of the ballots. Maybe someday.
ReplyDeleteHere in Texas those of us over (65 I believe) can vote by mail... and one can request absentee, but no general mail out. I do think that's a good idea.... no waiting in lines, no trouble getting people to the voting places, etc.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kathy.... Missouri makes things difficult!!
ReplyDeleteWashington is completely vote by mail too. It's easy and allows everyone to have a say.
ReplyDeleteOur next election is a municipal one in the fall.
ReplyDeletePleased you've done it and your ballots are in the mail.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
I don't know if there are other options here other than vote in person. I will have to check.
ReplyDeleteI drove to the polling station, used two canes to get into the building, went through the electronic, scan your drivers' license to be verified cast my ballot and used two canes to get back out to my car. Pathetic.
ReplyDeleteLin says good idea!
ReplyDeleteKansas still has some intelligent folks who run to the voting booths for big stuff like Women's Rights!
ReplyDeleteWe've had absentee ballots if desired for 15-20 years. You have to submit an application to receive one with each election. Those with permanent severe mobility issues can request a permanent absentee ballot for all elections (without having to prove their disability.) We have many days to vote early in person at several locations. My son, his wife and I choose that. Even at the voting locations, they have a curbside post set up, where you can push the button, stay in your car, and a voter person will come out with your ballot, let you vote, and take it back in for you. We also have outdoor drop boxes that look like mail boxes at several sites. Some sheriffs and AGs tried to take away the mail drop boxes, but didn't succeed. We had many people (including my son,) who changed to Unaffiliated, and those folks helped to sway the last election, where Kansas said NO to changing our state constitution, which already permits women's rights and abortion rights. If they'd voted yes, the state constitution could have changed and then an instant stream of abortion bans would have happened. Stunning that this state won for women's rights! We have lots of choices here to vote, but a ballot is not automatically mailed to every registered voter. That was done for a city or county election once. Linda in Kansas
I'm surprised that even though we all got mail in ballots, there's still a lot of people who waited until today to vote and there were still lines at the polls.
DeleteI've read that some folks don't trust the mail, or people along the way who could fiddle with the ballot. Those purists like the voting machines. Linda in Kansas
DeleteGood for you for learning about them, and thinking about it all.
ReplyDeleteI live in Washington state and vote by mail. We already had our primary and we will study carefully who is on the ballot for November.
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting, and really good news. Happy you can now vote by mail. Thank you for sharing it. Wishing you well, dear friend. Have a wonderful weekend!
ReplyDeleteShoot. We have a man running for governor who promises to strip the voting rights of every single Pennsylvanian. To vote we will all have to reregister. He also reminds us that as governor, he has the absolute right to decertify any and all votes. He also wants to make voting by mail illegal. He also participated in the Jan 6th riots.
ReplyDeleteWe also have Trump backed Dr Oz with his long history of cons and quack theories. He moved in with his in-laws to qualify for PA residency.
Allow me to say that we don't have as much to mull over as you and Art do.
Oh my gosh! That sounds awful! What a terrible candidate you have to worry about. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.
DeleteWe have the same system in Oregon. All voting is by mail and everyone's ballot is mailed to them automatically. It's been like that for as long as I can remember. So our per capita voting turnout is usually much higher than the national average.
ReplyDeleteWe have the typical pattern that the urban areas (Portland, Salem, Eugene) vote blue and the rural areas vote red, but that gives blue a comfortable majority.
Hawaii is notoriously low, unfortunately. However, most of the people we voted for did get in, so we're content.
DeleteI've been voting by mail for years. So much easier.
ReplyDeleteYep, Washington votes by mail. has for quite a while. I voted for my Democratic incumbents. We did lose a decent US Rep who voted in impeach Trump, and instead got a crackpot candidate who thinks Trump is still rightfully the president. We're hoping it's a chance for a Dem to take the office. God, I hope so!
ReplyDeleteNo such luck in our state. Unlike many, I think we should join the 21st century and vote by email if not by mail. Unlike what many say, I think it would actually be a more secure way of voting.
ReplyDeleteYes, we receive ballots so we can vote by mail in California as we've been able to do for years. I usually take mine to a drop box at the site where I used to vote in person.
ReplyDelete