5:10 p.m. — Could Longer Voting Hours Help Hirono?
Reports from Hawaii Island this morning revealed that at least one precinct had not yet opened for business an hour and a half after it the scheduled 7 a.m. start. Gov. Neil Abercrombie cited that example and other minor delays in his proclamation extending voting on the Big Island from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
So, to recap: One polling location opened 90 minutes late, so 40 polling locations are staying open 90 minutes longer.
In the 2010 primary election, more than 23,000 Big Island voters cast their ballot in a physical precinct on election day — about 2,000 per hour. Even if that rate is lower this year because of a higher incidence of early voting, and even if fewer voters are voting during dinner hour, it’s not unreasonable to guess that an extra 90 minutes of voting could allow an extra 1,000 or 2,000 votes to be cast.
That could have a small impact on outcomes because none of the other counties are having their voting times extended — just the Big Island. Hirono led Ed Case 55 percent to 37 percent on the Big Island in the most recent Civil Beat Poll, so an extra 1,500 Democratic Primary votes there split along that proportion would mean 825 for Hirono and 555 for Case, a 270-vote difference.
That’s unlikely to make a big difference in a contest where more than 200,000 votes could well be cast. But if the race is historically close, it could be the difference.
Case isn’t complaining, though.
“The governor made the right decision. All voters are entitled to a full and equal opportunity to vote,” a spokeswoman for the Case campaign told Civil Beat.
Asked specifically if the decision hurts Case’s chances, she said it does not.
“No, it doesn’t upset us,” she said. “The momentum that we feel in our campaign is statewide, and we would never encourage anything that prohibits any individual voters from exercising that right.”
— Michael Levine
Hirono and Abercrombie at the unity rally in Hilo Friday.
