We just got back from voting in beautiful Hanalei. Voting Hawaiian style is much more fun than it was for us on the mainland. Here, Election Day is like a holiday... in fact it is for all of the state and county workers and for all of the schools. So it seems like everyone is out enjoying this beautiful day.
Our polling place is at the Hanalei Elementary School cafeteria. It's a tradition here for politicians and their supporters to wave to people on their way to and from voting. It's like one big block party with everyone enjoying their roadside tents and celebrating the day together. Candidates who were debating each other yesterday are sharing the Aloha spirit together today. And that Aloha spirit cheers you on as you go.
We found that the election process itself ran very smoothly. The precinct workers were there to explain the format of the ballot and to remind us to color in the boxes for the candidates of our choice (completely but without going outside of the lines). Inside the cafeteria there were many curtained polling booths that you could use... but if you were in a hurry - like us - you were welcome to sit down at one of the mini cafeteria tables. It made all that coloring a lot more fun! All around us on the cafeteria walls were colorful words posted to inspire the students like... "RESPONSIBLITY - RESPECT - COURAGE - CREATIVITY - FRIENDSHIP - HOPE".... These words were a good reminder to all of us voting about the values we all share - regardless of how we vote on issues or candidates.
Then when you have colored in your boxes... off you go to the scanning machine where you personally and privately feed your ballot into a machine. An American flag waves to signal that your votes have been counted. In and out in about 15 minutes... plenty of time to get back to work... or back to the beach! Frankly, today was one of those days when it was really hard to get back to work!
Aloha,
Sylvia & Don
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