QUESTION: I fear I have lost my ability to vote in this mail-in election. Last year I moved from Manoa to McCully. I was registered to vote at my Manoa address for many years, and voted in almost every election. At the beginning of April, I sent in the voter registration form with my new address. This was well before the stated April 22 registration deadline to be eligible for getting a mail ballot for the special congressional election. I never received the yellow card that they usually send upon registration, and I have not received the mail ballot. Will I be able to vote at the walk-in location at City Hall if I am not registered at my new address? What are my options to ensure that I get to exercise my right to vote?

ANSWER: Not to worry.

You should be getting your mail-in ballot soon; if not, you can vote in person.

“;Today is the day we put together packets for people who registered (to vote) just prior to the deadline,”; Rex Quidilla, head of the Voter Services Section for the Hawaii Office of Elections, told us yesterday. “;So, if you made the deadline and you are properly registered to vote and you live within the district, we're preparing packets for you and will be mailing them out.”;

The mail-in ballots must be received by 6 p.m. May 22. The last day to request a mail-in ballot if you did not receive one is May 15.

Although the special election to fill the 1st Congressional District seat vacated by Neil Abercrombie is being conducted as a vote-by-mail election, there's still the option to vote in person.

Registered voters can go to the absentee walk-in voting site in the City Clerk's Office at Honolulu Hale (City Hall), 530 S. King St., Monday through May 20.

The voting site will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, plus Saturday, May 15, during that period.

Quidilla explained that the first mailing of ballots went to all registered voters already on the election rolls. New registrants were then handled separately as they came in before the deadline.

The winner of the election is the candidate who gets the highest number of votes, not necessarily the majority of the votes. The term of office expires Jan. 3.

QUESTION: Could you publish a reminder about how people can stop political calls during this time of active political campaigning? I've sent requests to the top three candidates running in the special congressional election to stop calling me, but I still keep getting calls from one candidate. So much for having an “;unlisted”; number and being on the Do Not Call Registry.

ANSWER: Political organizations are exempt from the national Do Not Call Registry, which is aimed at stopping unwanted telemarketing calls.

In addition to political organizations, charities, survey takers or companies with which you have an existing business relationship are exempt from the restrictions.

However, if you tell any of these exempt companies or organizations to stop calling you, they are required to honor your request.

In fact, even if your telephone number is not on the Do Not Call Registry, you can stop unwanted telemarketing calls by asking to be put on the company's do-not-call list.

Click here for more information.