Election officials: 32,000 ballots being processed on Oahu alone, third printing likely hours away

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – State election officials said 32,000 ballots were not processed on Oahu on Wednesday alone, potentially changing the outcome of several close state and county races.

Officials added that the third edition of the election results is a few hours away. This compares to the August primary, where the third print was released around 11:30 p.m. that same day.

As of 5:10 a.m., Hawaii County has completed the tables, but the numbers will not be updated until all counties are completed. Statewide numbers won’t be updated until votes are processed in all counties, according to election officials.

While ballots are still coming in, big races, including for governor and congressional leaders, are unlikely because the margins are so wide.

Moreover, the latest figures show that only 353,504 out of 861,358 people voted — a mere 41% voter turnout.

And with all those people ready to vote on Oahu and across the state, one would think that turnout could change those numbers. However, the latest figures from the state’s Office of Elections show that as of Tuesday night, only 16,688 people – just 1.9% of voters in the state – had chosen to cast their ballots in person. That’s nearly double the number of people who voted in person in August’s primary election, where Hawaii saw just over 9,000.

SPECIAL SECTION: Election 2022

The latest island-by-island distribution shows voter turnout

• In Oahu, about 43% of voters participated. About 9,800 people voted in person and nearly 243,000 by mail.
• On the island of Hawaii, which has more than 131,000 registered voters, just over 64,000 people voted – just over 3,000 people voted in person. The total number of voters was 49.3 percent.
• In Kauai, overall voter turnout was 36.5%, with more than 1,400 voters voting in person.
• In Maui County, 31.1 percent of voters and more than 2,300 people voted in person.

TO BE CONTINUED:

This story will be updated as these numbers may change throughout the morning.

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