Special election tab The Jan. 26 special election to fill the vacant Honolulu City Council Fifth District seat will cost less than $150,000, city officials said.
will be a steal
The cost to the city is expected
to be lower than first anticipatedBy Gordon Y.K. Pang
gpang@starbulletin.comThat's significantly lower than the $225,000 to $250,000 City Clerk Genny Wong first thought would be needed for the election to replace Andy Mirikitani, who was sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison after being convicted of accepting kickbacks from employees.
Election Systems & Software, the vote-counting vendor, agreed to a $35,000 contract for its services, half of the initial quote it gave to the city, according to election official Glen Takahashi.
The city also is saving money because AT&T granted the use of cellular phones for election staff on that day. Additionally, precinct supplies and equipment that would have been rented are being provided by the state Office of Elections, which also is offering its operations administrators for technical assistance, Takahashi said. Other city agencies are allowing the use of facilities.
Ballots will be counted in the third-floor meeting chambers of the Council at Honolulu Hale through the use of a high-speed reader.
Election officials expect two election printouts on the night of the election: one consisting of all absentee ballots that will be released about 6:30 p.m., and a final report with all votes counted that is expected sometime after 9 p.m.
Absentee walk-in voting began at City Hall on Friday and will run through Jan. 24. The absentee polling place is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Monday through Saturday, including Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday.
There are 14 candidates for the seat.
City & County of Honolulu
