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So far, If absentee votes are an indication, people of all ethnic groups have few qualms about casting ballots in the Office of Hawaiian Affairs election.
there’s no ethnic
OHA snub
Voters have few qualms
about choosing people as
Hawaiian Affairs trusteesFirst | Second in a series
By Pat Omandam
Star-BulletinThis despite the urgings of some that non-Hawaiians should choose not to vote and allow Hawaiians to select their own representatives on the board. In an informal poll of 75 voters at the three absentee walk-in polling places on Oahu, nine out of 10 people said they voted in the OHA trustee election.
The biggest factor for those who did not vote for OHA trustees was not because they felt they shouldn't vote but because they didn't know the candidates.
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling struck down the Hawaiians-only restriction on OHA elections, and this year is first time voters from all ethnic groups can cast ballots for OHA trustees.
This week the Star-Bulletin looks at the races for the nine Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee seats. OHA Series
Today: Kauai
In 1998, about 70,000 of 100,000 Hawaiians who registered to vote for OHA cast their ballots.
This year the election is open to a potential 629,000 voters statewide, making for wide open and hard-to-call races.
Maunawili Estates resident Kapua Lee said that as a Hawaiian she prides herself on being familiar with the career, history or names of all the OHA candidates.
But she was at a loss yesterday when she voted at Windward Mall.
"A lot of these (candidates), I've never heard of them or I didn't know anything of them ... " Lee said.
"I only picked one rather than three (in the special at-large race) because I didn't know of them or what their qualifications are. I'd rather leave it blank than vote for somebody who is not qualified, and who doesn't know."
To accommodate all 96 OHA candidates and to make it easier to understand, the state Office of Elections divided the OHA elections into separate ballots.
The first ballot contains the four regular OHA races with terms that expire in four years. The second ballot contains the five special races to fill out the remaining two years on the terms of trustees who resigned in early September.
Waikiki resident Anthony Wilson said he found the OHA ballots easy to read at City Hall yesterday and voted for trustees he believes will work to better the conditions for native Hawaiians.
Wilson was not familiar with all of the candidates, but voted anyway. "Some of them I knew," he said. "And then some of them I read about."
Many people yesterday said it took time to cast their OHA votes because there were so many names to choose from.
One woman said she resorted to voting for those with the longest Hawaiian name, while another person's strategy was not to vote for any OHA incumbents, anyone who has served as trustee in the past.
"I didn't vote for the ones that were on the board originally," said Mike Wang of Manoa, who selected Hawaiian candidates he thought could work together.
"If they're all bickering amongst each other, then how are you gonna get anything accomplished? They have to be one to get what they want," Wang said.
The Japanese-American Citizens League urged its membership and the general public who decide to vote in OHA elections next week to select only Hawaiian trustees. Their position prompted OHA interim board Chairman Clayton Hee to say a few days later that all voters have a civic duty to chose the most qualified OHA candidates, regardless of ethnicity.
Keihiro Higuchi of Pauoa said he voted for OHA trustees yesterday at City Hall because he felt it was his duty.
"I think so, since you've got it on the ballot," he said.
Higuchi didn't have a list of people in mind and instead chose names he recognized. Many say name recognition will be the key factor in the OHA elections with the unfamiliarity of candidates.
Greg Markham of Kailua also voted for OHA at City Hall yesterday because the agency uses state money and he is a taxpayer. Markham, who said he is generally familiar with the problems at OHA, selected those he thinks are responsible, intelligent, well-informed and fair.
Arno Bann of Kapahulu didn't like that voters on Oahu can choose OHA candidates who live on the neighbor islands.
"I don't think that's fair, you know. It's the same thing like your (vote for) representative or U.S. senator from the Big Island. Oahu has no reason to vote for that, right?" he said.
Bann, who came to City Hall yesterday to get information on the OHA election, said he's only familiar with the old-timers who have run for OHA before.
"The newcomers, you don't even know who is who, you know," Bann said.
Some of those who cast absentee walk-in ballots yesterday said they didn't vote for OHA because they didn't have enough information. Only two people said they felt as a non-Hawaiian that it wasn't "their kuleana" or place to vote.
Meanwhile, City Clerk Genny Wong said she hasn't received any complaints from voters that the OHA list of candidates is too long or confusing.
Office of Hawaiian Affairs
State Office of Elections
