Elections in Hawaii

Elections in Hawaiiare held for various local, state, and federal seats in thestateofHawaii.Regular elections are held every even year, althoughspecial electionsmay be held to fill vacancies at other points in time. Theprimary electionis held on the second Saturday in August, while the general election is held onElection Day,which is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

In a 2020 study, Hawaii was ranked as the 6th easiest state for citizens to vote in.

Elected offices

Federal

Hawaii participates infederal electionsalong with every other state in theUnited States.The state votes on electors forpresidentandvice president,as well as legislators to represent it inCongress.

President and Vice President

Main articles:United States presidential electionandUnited States presidential elections in Hawaii

Since itsadmissionin 1959, Hawaii has participated in 16indirectpresidential electionswhich have been held every four years since1960.The state is currently delegated four electors to theElectoral Collegewhich has remained unchanged since1964.Candidates for president and vice president are listed on the ballot either as nominees of a qualified political party, or as apetitionedcandidate who represents an unqualified party or group.

Senate

See also:List of United States senators from Hawaii

Hawaii is represented in theUnited States Senateby two senators. They are elected to six-year terms through statewide elections with candidates nominated by political parties through partisan primary elections.Mazie HironoandBrian Schatzserve as the state's current senators. Hirono was last elected in2018and is up for re-election in2024,while Schatz was last elected in2022and is up for re-election in2028.

House of Representatives

See also:List of United States representatives from Hawaii

Additionally, Hawaii is represented in theUnited States House of Representativesby twomembers of Congress,whom are elected in the twocongressional districtsto two-year terms. The districts arereapportionedevery ten years following the release of a newcensus.The state's current representatives areEd Case,who represents the1st district,andKai Kahele,who represents the2nd district.They were last elected in2022and are both up for re-election in2024.

State

Hawaii also holds elections for its ownstate government.

Governor and lieutenant governor

Thegovernorandlieutenant governorare the only statewide elected executive offices. Candidates for both offices are nominated in separate primary elections and run as a party-nominatedticketin the general election. They are elected to four-year terms and arelimitedfrom serving more than two consecutive terms, although a governor is eligible for re-election if they were out of office for at least one election cycle. The current governor isJosh Green,serving with lieutenant governorSylvia Luke.They were elected in2022.Green is eligible for re-election in2026.

Senate

All twenty-five members of theHawaii Senateare elected in single-member constituent districts. The senate follows a 2-4-4 term system; every ten years, senators are elected to two-year terms, while the next four elections are held for four-year terms in half of the senate's seats. The current composition of the senate was elected in2020and2022;all seats will be up for election in2024.

House of Representatives

All fifty-one members of theHawaii House of Representativesare elected to two-year terms in single-member constituent districts. The current composition of the house was elected in2022;all seats will be up for election in2024.

Office of Hawaiian Affairs

All nine members of theOffice of Hawaiian AffairsBoard of Trustees are elected in nonpartisan statewide contests. Trustees are elected to a four-year term by general election of Hawaii registered voters. The islands of Oahu, Kauai, Maui, Molokai, and Hawai‘i each have one representative trustee; the rest serve in an at-large capacity. The current composition of the board was elected in 2022; the trustees for Maui, Kauai, and Molokai, and two at-large seats, will be up for election in 2024.

Political parties

There are six registeredpolitical partiesin Hawaii:

• Aloha ʻĀina Party(A)
• Constitution Party of Hawaii(C)
• Democratic Party of Hawaii(D)
• Green Party of Hawaii(G)
• Libertarian Party of Hawaii(L)
• Hawaii Republican Party(R)

To a political party to qualify, it must petition for signatures of at least 0.1% of total registered voters as of the previous general election. The petition is due 170 days before the primary election. For a registered party to remain qualified, it must have run a candidate in the previous general election for any statewide office or U.S. Representative seat whose incumbent was either barred from or chose not to run for re-election. Additionally, the party must have satisfied at least one of the following requirements in the previous election:

• Received at least 10% of the vote in any statewide or U.S. Representative election.
• Received at least 4% of the total vote of all state senate elections.
• Received at least 4% of the total vote of all state representative elections.
• Received at least 2% of the total vote of all state senate and state representative elections.

Nonpartisan candidates

Hawaii is unique in that it is the only state in the country in whichindependentor candidates run in a primary election to qualify as the soleNonpartisancandidate in the general election. To appear on the ballot, these candidates must either receive 10% of the total primary votes for the office, or receive more votes than the lowest vote received by a partisan candidate.

List of recent elections

2022

• 2022 United States Senate election in Hawaii
• 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Hawaii
• 2022 Hawaii gubernatorial election
• 2022 Hawaii Senate election
• 2022 Hawaii House of Representatives election

2020

Main article:2020 Hawaii elections

• 2020 United States presidential election in Hawaii
  • 2020 Hawaii Democratic presidential primary
• 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Hawaii
• 2020 Hawaii Senate election
• 2020 Hawaii House of Representatives election
• 2020 Honolulu mayoral election

2018

• 2018 United States Senate election in Hawaii
• 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Hawaii
• 2018 Hawaii gubernatorial election
• 2018 Hawaii Senate election
• 2018 Hawaii House of Representatives election

See also

• Women's suffrage in Hawaii
• Political party strength in Hawaii

External links

• Hawaii Office of Electionsofficial website
• HawaiiatBallotpedia
• Government Documents Round Tableof the American Library Association,"Hawaii",Voting & Elections Toolkits
• "Hawaii: Election Tools, Deadlines, Dates, Rules, and Links",Vote.org,Oakland, CA
• "League of Women Voters of Hawaii".(State affiliate of the U.S.League of Women Voters)
• "State Elections Legislation Database",Ncsl.org,Washington, D.C.:National Conference of State Legislatures,State legislation related to the administration of elections introduced in 2011 through this year, 2020