2024 General Election Results --Third Read
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Big Island General Plan a Word Salad
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Alameda to become Hawaii County mayor – HGEA, UPW Members to get $20K each
HTH: … Kimo Alameda, the former CEO of Bay Clinic, cruised to victory over incumbent Mitch Roth Tuesday evening in the nonpartisan runoff race to become the county’s chief executive. Alameda received 35,577 votes, or 53.7% of the valid votes, to Roth’s 30,717 votes or 46.3%....
Alameda, a newcomer to elected politics served as the leader of the Fentanyl Task Force. He also was executive of the county’s Office of Aging under former mayors Harry Kim and the late Billy Kenoi. He received the endorsement of the two public workers unions, the Hawaii Government Employees Association and United Public Workers.
Both unions sought hazard pay for working during the pandemic, which Roth opposed….
(TRANSLATION: Alameda’s real campaign slogan was ‘vote for me and I’ll give you a $20K bonus.’)
CB: Big Island Election: Alameda Leads Roth In Mayor's Race Upset
read … Alameda to become Hawaii County mayor - Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Voter Suppression AGAIN -- Kapolei Hale wait 6 hours in the rain
KITV: Hundreds waited in line at Kapolei Hale, some said they had been waiting up to six hours to cast their vote.
There are about half a dozen lines and it’s been like this since this morning, which frustrated many who came out to vote.
A woman who voted in Kapolei today shared her concerns, “When I got in line, the line was back there wrapping around the whole building and so forth. And then when you get inside, it just had a little station set up to fill out another paper. But the thing is why do you guys only have two locations? All these people are here.”
“Super unorganized. A lot of elderly that should have been pushed to the forward. It was a lady that was over here that had an emergency,” she added.
People are now standing in these lines in the rain. Even though they’re super frustrated these voters said they would rather vote in person because they don’t trust the mail-in process.
They said it’s a small price to pay to get the right politicians in government to help reduce taxes and help with the cost of living here in Hawaii.
Many of them want change especially to the economy so that their children and grandchildren can stay in paradise and prosper here at home….
Always Aloha on X: "KAPOLEI, OAHU— Stepped out of line for a moment. They are creating more lines to get people off sidewalk. I’m not even close to voting yet. @KHONnews is here and asked me how long I’ve been in line. It’s literally crazy! CRAZY GOOD!
PRECISELY AS EXPLAINED: Long Lines Suppress Republican Votes on Election Day: City Clerk Plans to do it Again in 2024
read … Voters at Kapolei Hale are frustrated about long wait times | News | kitv.com
Common Cause Hawaii: Voting by mail cannot replace in-person voting
HNN: … Hurt says the turnout demonstrates that citizens’ voices are heard, but also emphasized the need for multiple voting access points in order to maintain both election integrity and security.
“For some reason, we thought if we went to a more mail-in dominant system, that we would see more votes. I don’t think that that’s true, and I think that you can’t do it without the other,” Hurt said.
“If you’re going to have the mail-in option, then we do have to have accessible and multiple accessible places in person. Meaning, if you look at Oahu, it’s the most populous island in the state chain. However, there are only two places to vote in person on Election Day,” Hurt said.
Hurt suggested changes such as ensuring there are enough election workers and locations.
He also agreed that while mail-in votes save money, the method cannot be used to restrict or cut back on in-person voting access.
“I think they misunderstood how many voters actually take voting the day of, in person seriously, and how for some it’s very sacrosanct,” Hurt said. “So if you take even somebody like me, while I have the option to vote by mail, it would take hell or high water to get me to vote by mail. I would prefer to vote in person, not over any distrust in the system, but simply based off of my heritage and the pride that I have as a Black man now being able to vote.” …
read … Common Cause Hawaii: Voting by mail cannot replace in-person voting
Rep. Jill Tokuda on voter wait times: ‘We did not meet the moment’
HNN: … In light of limited voting locations across the state, paired with residents lining up to vote after work and commuting up to an hour to cast their ballots, Tokuda suggested more voting locations open in the future. “Honestly, we need to be prepared to make sure that every person’s vote can be accepted,” Tokuda said. “The fact that we’ve got hours and hours of lines ahead of us, we did not meet the moment the way we should have, given what we knew it could have happened tonight,” she said ….
read … Rep. Jill Tokuda on voter wait times: ‘We did not meet the moment’
Hawaii election results delayed until last voter in line casts ballot -- 11 p.m.
KITV: … Chief Elections Officer Scott Nago currently estimates the printout times as 11 p.m., midnight and tomorrow.
That's because anyone standing in line when the Voter Service Centers close at 7 p.m. can vote. Using 2020 elections as a guide, the last person voted at 11 p.m.
Nago said long lines are normal in a presidential election. The first printout will include all ballots counted through this afternoon. The second will include ballots from all 12 Voter Service Centers. The third printout will have ballots from all 57 drop boxes.
The weather isn't a factor according to Nago. So far, they have not heard of problems at the sites. They have received 428,000 ballots in the mail—that's less than the 2020 election, but more than the 2022 election….
PRECISELY AS EXPLAINED: Long Lines Suppress Republican Votes on Election Day: City Clerk Plans to do it Again in 2024
read … Hawaii election results are expected to be released at 11 p.m. | News | kitv.com
Hawaii residents stand in rain, long lines, to cast ballots
SA: … Hundreds of residents stood in the rain, some waiting for hours since early this morning, to get into Oahu’s voter centers in Honolulu and Kapolei.
Election officials said residents waited in line as much as an hour before voter centers opened 7 a.m. at Honolulu Hale and Kapolei Hale. At Honolulu Hale, the line wound down the walkway to the Frank Fasi Municipal Building, and back around.
The average wait time by noon was at about three hours, according to Honolulu Election Administrator Rex Quidilla, which remained at that level into the afternoon.
There were many in line who wanted to vote in person rather than by mail or by dropping their ballot in a dropbox, while others had registration issues.
Many of the residents in line were also registering to vote for the first time, according to Quidilla, or needed to update their voter registrations…
By state law, anyone eligible to vote who is in line before the scheduled 7 p.m. close of island voting locations must be allowed to vote.
The lines at Honolulu and Kapolei were still long at the 7 p.m. cutoff time, according to Quidilla.
Hawaii Elections Chief Scott Nago expected the last vote to be cast after 11 p.m. which was what happened in 2020, based on the long lines reported across the state….
PRECISELY AS EXPLAINED: Long Lines Suppress Republican Votes on Election Day: City Clerk Plans to do it Again in 2024
read … Hawaii residents stand in rain, long lines, to cast ballots
Voters endure 3 hour-long wait to decide who serves on the Maui City County
KITV: … At the Velma McWayne Santos Community Center in Wailuku, one of the voter service centers on the island, the line was snaking out of the building and into the parking lot.
I spoke with a man who said he waited three hours to cast his ballot.
Mike Carroll who waited three hours to cast his ballot said, “It was long, it was very long. Until you got into the air conditioning after about two hours or about two hours and 15 minutes, then it got better, but still long.”…
read … Voters endure hours-long wait to decide who serves on the Maui City County
Maui Voters Wait Hours To Cast Ballots
CB: … Voters stood in long lines Tuesday to cast their ballots in Wailuku at one of only two voter service centers open on Maui.
Comments from those waiting hours to vote at the Velma McWayne Santos Community Center ranged from “this is insane” to “it’s a letdown of the government,” but the situation remained orderly and calm.
The line stretched out of the community center and down the parking lot.
A 72-year-old Pukalani resident, Ron Harris, said he wishes he would have just mailed in his ballot.
He arrived with Vangie Rivera shortly after 1 p.m. and finally voted around 3:45 p.m., Harris said, noting that it’s worse than the lines they encountered the past two elections on Maui. The lines kept polls open past 7 p.m. in 2022 and 2020.
It’s the first general election since the August 2023 fires displaced more than 12,000 residents in Lahaina and Upcountry.
A voicemail message on the Maui Elections Division said “we anticipate long lines” on Election Day and encouraged people to bring water, a hat and sunscreen.
Voters also waited in long lines to cast their ballots at the voter service centers on Oahu, both in Kapolei and Honolulu.
read … Maui Voters Wait Hours To Cast Ballots - Honolulu Civil Beat
Three Hour Wait at Kailua-Kona
BIN: … Paloma Shrable reported at just before 5 p.m. in an email that hundreds of people were still standing in line at the West Hawai‘i Civic Center in Kailua-Kona to vote, some of whom had been waiting for 3 hours.
Henricks didn’t know when the first printout of results would be released.
He added there there was also a lot of activity at the ballot box Tuesday in Hilo, and estimated 75,000 ballots were counted in the early afternoon.
read … 2024 Hawai‘i General Election results to come after last voter casts ballot
In-person Hawaii voters face long lines on Election Day
HNN: … Hawaii voters opting to cast their ballots in person flocked to voter service centers on Election Day, facing long lines and hours-long wait times — even despite the rainy weather.
On Oahu, both Honolulu Hale and Kapolei Hale saw wait times of between one to three hours.
“This is ridiculous,” she said. “I’ve been here for going on two hours. I’ve been timing it, you can add 20 minutes to it. But this is crazy.”
Those who voted in person told Hawaii News Now either wanted to vote the old fashioned way or make sure their vote was counted.
Long lines and wait times were also reported at neighbor island voter service centers, including on Kauai, Maui and Hawaii Island.
Voters began lining up at service centers as early as 5 a.m….
read … In-person Hawaii voters face long lines with up to 4-hour wait times on Election Day
Meet the last voters in line in Honolulu, Kapolei, and Wailuku
HNN: … “It’s my first time voting. And I’m so grateful to represent my family because I’m the only one to vote in my family,” said the final voter in line at Honolulu Hale.
“I was the last, very last person online that basically got this like a purple piece of paper that allowed you to cast your ballot. So I feel like a sumo wrestler who was on a diet for six months, and it’s finally over,” said Vincent in line at the Velma McWayne Santos Community Center in Wailuku.
The last in line at Kapolei Hale was a familiar face who happened to be on the ballot, Republican Sen. Brenton Awa.
“What we know is, on election day, 90% of these people are voting red. If we control the minority when we wake up tomorrow, we’re filing a lawsuit. This is an injustice to the minority who wants to vote traditionally,” Sen. Awa said.
“I tell you what Hawaii can expect change. The nation’s gonna get changed, but Hawaii can expect extreme change.”
Awa is the last in line at Kapolei Hale, which has the longest lines, meaning he will be the last to vote in the entire state….
read … Meet the last voters in line in Honolulu, Kapolei, and Wailuku
Rail Shaft Sunk 357 feet looking for solid footing
RA: … Contract clauses, such as those addressing short supply, were essential to mitigate risks and ensure that the contractor could be compensated for material cost increases. The primary source for materials was shipping, with backups at the port for entry. Shipping delays and resource constraints limited supply into the ports, necessitating longer lead times for material procurement. Resource constraints for both material and labor were significant, as relocating personnel quickly was not feasible, requiring meticulous planning and time management….
Utility relocation was a significant aspect of the project, with a total of 90,000 linear feet of utility lines needing to be moved—a majority were relocated underground providing a safer, more reliable, system. Notifications for de-energizing the 138 kV power lines were needed one year in advance….
Hawaii’s unique geology presented additional challenges. Unlike the U.S. mainland’s more predictable silt, sand, clay, and rock, native Hawaiian soils consist of alluvium, tuff, and coralline detritus. The drilling contractor for Segment 2, Legacy Foundations, had to drill the deepest shaft on record, 357 feet deep, to address volcanic rock, ignoring the top 150 feet due to poor soil conditions. This required two weeks of continuous drilling, soil excavation, and hole protection—a truly remarkable accomplishment by the contractor with no anomalies in the crosshole sonic log (CSL) testing or non-conformance reports (NCRs) during installation.
Construction at sea level, including trenching for utility relocations, typically required dewatering and water management. Single drilled shafts, ranging from 7 to 11 feet in diameter and up to 357 feet deep, supported the guideway. A total of 225 drilled shafts were constructed using varying methodologies, including temporary and leave-in-place casing, open hole with and without water, and telescoping oscillators….
read … Delivering a Hawaii Transit Megaproject - Railway Age
Flooding causes extensive damage to Ewa Beach homes
KHON: … Many families who live near Parish Drive and Fort Weaver Road had flood waters coming up to their knees.
“The canal and the different drains weren’t properly dredged and maintained. The water had nowhere else to go and it just backed up and actually became a collection point,” said Ewa Beach resident, Timothy Crawley.
Residents grabbed any tools they could to help fight the flood….
“We had to dig out the canal, the berm. It was only letting a little bit of water through and with some help of the neighbors and other kids, eight of us just got our shovels and we just opened it up and let the water flow through. We really, truly felt that that’s what saved a lot of the houses because the water was finally able to recede,” said Vlachakis.
read … Flooding causes extensive damage to Ewa Beach homes
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