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Midnight, the announcement is that only one polling place will be open...however the Office of Elections stated this afternoon that mailings will be sent to each of the effected voters by Friday....
(my personal edit: to a disaster area that still has roads that are cleared...no electricity... so people still unable to leave their residence...????)
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Update: Hanabusa Threatens to Sue to Block Friday's Election
(*Snipped -More at link)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/break...=270983131
FYI:
HAWAIIAN BEACHES, Hawaii >> U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa said Tuesday that she is considering a legal challenge to block Friday's vote in two Puna precincts that could decide her Democratic primary for Senate against U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz.
Hanabusa said she would likely argue to delay the vote until residents who are still without power and water can recover from Tropical Storm Iselle. The congresswoman also said that voters in two other Puna precincts that did open on Saturday should also be allowed to vote if they could not get to the precincts because of blocked roads.
Hanabusa trails Schatz by 1,635 votes in the primary.
"We're going to have to file something in court, because I feel that what's going on is really disenfranchising a lot of people," said Hanabusa, who is still discussing her legal strategy with counsel.
State Rep. Faye Hanohano, who represents the Puna region, also called for a delay in Friday's vote. Hanohano is trailing attorney Joy San Buenaventura after early returns.
Pat Saiki, the chairwoman of the Hawaii Republican Party, also urged the state Office of Elections to postpone voting.
Election officials have set the vote for two Puna precincts that could not open on Saturday because of storm damage for Friday at Keonepoko Elementary School. Results would be announced Friday evening.
David Tarnas, a former state lawmaker who is the chairman of Hawaii County Democrats, asked Stephanie Ohigashi, the chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, to file a complaint with the Office of Elections to delay the vote.
Tarnas told Ohigashi that many residents in Puna may not be aware of Friday's vote. "Because of the significant damage in these areas from the hurricane, these voters don't have access to media coverage of the announcement about this change in elections procedures," he wrote. "The voters in these two precincts were promised a mail-in absentee ballot in posted statements on signs at the closed polling stations.
"Then without notifying every registered voter in these two precincts, the election procedures suddenly were changed. This is a clear a violation of the voting rights of the people of Puna and must be challenged."
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Good for her. It's in her best interest to do something...Having HPP voters travel 12 to 15 miles to vote in Hawaiian Beaches is crazy. There's no communication in HPP except by smartphones in some areas. No one will know there is a special election...and probably no one will vote. And if no one votes....Brian Schatz will win. And if she does get a delay in the voting for several weeks...what better way to secure a win for her than to give HPP voters something they've been wanting for a long time but never had the money..... like a bike/walking path down one of the main thoroughfares! Or a park
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I note that Self-interest is at work here...shame on these candidates wrapping themselves in self-righteousness.
One is a racist and the other has a reputation for ethical "lapses", NOW, when behind in the polls, they want to change
the system that they are so used to taking advantage of. Pat Saiki is just making mischief, and while David Tarnas can
argue that people were misinformed the reality is that those housebound or access blocked voters he is arguing for could have
NEVER read those signs.
Those that did see those notices are also capable of staying abreast of the clarification as to how the polling issue will be resolved in the fairest way
for ALL concerned. The goal is to resolve the issue promptly so that the statewide result is a fair result for all participants, candidates and the electorate. Lots of shibai here...Shame.
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My kids do that trip every school day.
quote:
what better way to secure a win for her than to give HPP voters something they've been wanting for a long time but never had the money..... like a bike/walking path down one of the main thoroughfares! Or a park
macuu, I'd like to see all of that manifest, but can you please explain how a freshman US Senator would "give" HPP a park -- through what legislation?
People are talking like a senator arrives in Washington, and the first thing their colleagues do is come up to the newbie and ask for the list of expensive things that were promised so he or she would get elected, and then they say, OK, let's write some legislation so you can keep your promise.
Because none of them made any promises. It will just be Hanabusa sweeping in asking pretty please for a park for the nice voters who saved her from losing.
Honestly, that would be a fairy tale.
I never had anything against Hanabusa going in, but this behavior is a real turnoff. Voting results in all of Puna that was counted showed that she lost Puna, and it wasn't one of the really close race areas. There's no reason at all to think she would have won if those two precincts had voted. Now she's going to instigate a lawsuit trying to buy herself time to get the majority of the uncast votes, and Hanohano as well, who was also not likely at all to win HPP. Shame on them.
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macuu22
"It's called politics". Okay, I'll rescue this inanity by throwing it a lifeline ( or 3). Is this;
Politics as a service?
Politics as a game?
Politics as blood sport ?
In my opinion, the threat of a suit to halt the election lies somewhere between 2 and 3.
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KathyH...What have the voters of HPP have to lose? We're never gonna see any major improvements to our subdivision in our lifetime. Getting a campaign promise is better than nothing. If she truely wants this...she'll find a way. She has lots of big money backing her campaign.
Yes, big money, and when she gets elected, her loyalty goes to the money and all the rest of the voters who are the ones whom she needs to elect her ... next time, when these precincts won't count any more than any other.
How will all the other areas that voted for her like it if she back burners her needs to fulfill a campaign promise that was somewhat extortionate. How do you even respect a representative who makes an empty promise to recover from a loss?
HPP won't get whatever it is anyway.
What will happen is you lose two years of work Schatz has put into successful relationship building in Washington. The Senate is all about seniority, and we lost ours twice over.
What Hawai'i gets, benefits HPP too. I really don't understand the limited viewpoint.
Honestly, if it had been my precinct that didn't vote, I sure wouldn't be trying to leverage special perks. I'd be thinking who is going to be the best US Senator for the State of Hawai'i -- for all of us. It's your Council race and your House Rep where you can realistically be looking at what that person can do for your local area.
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