Saturday is primary election day in Hawaii but given the state’s transition to mail-in voting in 2020, the official designation is a bit of an anachronism.

What You Need To Know

  • By Wednesday, more than 200,000 of the 730,000 ballots sent out had already been returned for verification and counting

  • Those who have not yet returned a ballot are advised to either vote at a voter service center or drop off their ballot at a designated drop box rather than send it in the mail

  • Same-day voter registration and accessible in-person voting are available at all voter service centers

  • As the vast majority of ballots are expected to be received prior to Saturday, and because Hawaii law allows ballots to be counted prior to election day (as long as results are not reported until after polls closed), it is expected that the first readout will be a strong if not definitive indication of the ultimate outcome of all but a handful of races

In fact, the 2022 primary effectively has been underway since July 26, when the last of ballots were to have been received by registered voters and drop-off boxes across the state opened. Most voter service centers have been in operation since Aug. 1. By Wednesday, more than 200,000 of the 730,000 ballots sent out had already been returned for verification and counting.

And while thousands of residents are still expected to cast in-person votes and drop off ballots on Saturday, the traditionally long, drawn-out spectacle of election night will likely give way to a more efficient, less dramatic culling of candidates for the general election, with the outcome of most major races likely decided by the first readout.

At this late date, those who have not yet returned a ballot are advised to either vote at a voter service center or drop off their ballot at a designated drop box rather than send it in the mail. Ballots must be received by county elections divisions no later than 7 p.m. Saturday to be counted. Service centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday; drop boxes will remain open until 7 p.m. Saturday.

Click here for a complete list of voter service centers and ballot drop boxes.

Same-day voter registration and accessible in-person is available at all voter service centers.

Ballots that have already been returned are collected by a county elections division. At each intake facility, a high-tech scanner-sorter takes an image of each piece of mail and compares the signature on the return envelope against a reference signature on file with the person’s voter registration record. If the signature does not match the signature on file or is missing, the county elections division notifies the voter, who then has up to five days after the election to resolve the issue.

It also records each ballot and credits the voter for having voted, which prevents multiple submissions.

All valid ballots are collected, caged and transferred to the state office of elections for counting.

The counting is monitored by official observers to ensure ballot-handling protocols are followed.

The procedure includes opening the envelope, removing the ballot from the secrecy sleeve, and unfolding ballot and packing it for counting. The actual counting is done by an automated scanner.

According to the Office of Elections, the first readout of results will be shared once all voter service centers and drop boxes have been closed at 7 p.m.

As the vast majority of ballots are expected to be received prior to Saturday, and because Hawaii law allows ballots to be counted prior to election day (as long as results are not reported until after polls closed), it is expected that the first readout will be a strong if not definitive indication of the ultimate outcome of all but a handful of races. A second readout will be released two to three hours later and a final report is expected a couple of hours after that. If all goes well, the final results will be known just before Sunday arrives.

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii.