DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Voting was a family affair for the Nakais at the Windward Community College polling site Tuesday. Nathan Nakai was joined by daughters Kaitlin and Megan in the voting booth, while wife Cheryl cast her ballot in a neighboring booth.

High turnout
spurred by
college students

Spurred by several hotly contested races across the state and a highly anticipated showdown for the White House, voters crowded the polls and mailed in their ballots in record numbers, reversing Hawaii's trend of declining turnout.

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Of the state's 647,238 registered voters, 67 percent, or 431,638 people, cast ballots in Tuesday's election, according to the state Office of Elections.

Four years ago, with about 10,000 fewer registered voters, the 2000 election saw a 58 percent turnout. Enthusiasm for voting reached a peak in 1992 when 82 percent of registered voters in Hawaii cast ballots. Registration has increased by about 200,000 voters since then.

University of Hawaii political science professor Kate Zhou said the rise in voting can be attributed to Democrats and Republicans reaching out to "people who didn't vote."

Democrats effectively used advertising in Hawaii and attracted youth and recent immigrants, who were opposed to President Bush's domestic policies or the war in Iraq.

"There are more young people than ever before," she said. "I'm a college professor, I can tell this. Before, people didn't care, especially college students, but this time they really cared."

All of the Hawaii National Guard members on training for Iraq duty in Fort Bliss, Texas, who requested to vote absentee received their ballots in time, said Maj. Charles Anthony, National Guard spokesman.

Anthony said when he heard reports that some members might not have received their ballots, commanders were instructed to find out how many of their soldiers were affected.

"Zero soldiers said they were affected," Anthony said.

When the soldiers were being processed for active duty in July, 507 said they wanted to vote absentee, knowing they would not be in Hawaii on Election Day. The last batch of ballots arrived at Fort Bliss last Thursday and were hand-delivered to the soldiers that same day, Anthony said.

However, other soldiers asked the city clerk's office to mail their ballots to their home, said Glen Takahashi, city election administrator.

Takahashi said he received a call from the wife of a soldier who said her husband did not receive his ballot. When he told her the ballot was mailed to their home in Laie, "The wife said: 'Yes, I have it. How is my husband going to vote?'"

Takahashi said his office instructed people how they could receive and send in their ballots by facsimile. He said 92 ballots arrived by facsimile -- most were from students attending school on the mainland.