Hawai'i's Democratic Caucus in Chaos!
Too many people, too little ballots!
On the Ballot: as of 12:20 AM HST
Obama 20,974 - 75%
Clintonv 6,529 - 25%
Kucinich 11
Edwards 4
Clintonv 6,529 - 25%
Kucinich 11
Edwards 4
Obama was expected to win the Hawai'i democratic caucus. Voters turned out in droves. A large voter turnout was expected, but party leaders did not have enough ballots to meet demand.
Polling centers were a scene of confusion and frustration as many voters arrived only to stand in long lines. Once in the polling place people complained about not knowing what to do. There were no instructions where to go and what to do.
There are 29 Hawai'i delegates total. Out of those 29 delegates, 9 are super delegates. The 20 Hawaii delegates that are at stake are not the only ones the campaigns are concerned with. Some Obama supporters are already focused on the nine super delegates from Hawaii, who can vote as they wish.
Voter turnout for Hawaiian elections have for years been notoriously low. Although party officials are expecting a large than expected voter turnout. So why did party officials have to scramble to get ballots to the polling centers when they became overwhelmed with voters?
Only registered voters could vote at the caucus and only registered members of the Democratic party could vote. Walk in voter registration is allowed to vote at the polling place. One polling place reported it had more ballots voted than people present at the polling place. How can that be? One person commented that many people were voting for the first time.
There is some video here at KHON while it's till available.
From KHON:
Challenges at the Hawaii Caucuses
By
Tammy Mori
Thousands of hawaii voters flooded tonight's caucuses.Organizers were overwhelmed by the tremendous turn out- and so were their resources.
There wasn't enough ballots, parking spots, or volunteers to accommodate all the voters that showed up.
"This is unbelievable. I've never seen so many people," says Terry Hunt, a volunteer with the Obama Campaign. Because the race between Clinton and Obama is so close, they were determined to make their vote count.
But as the night wore on, so did people's patience. "It looks like there is no parking," says Marilyn Schank, a driver.
When the doors opened to the cafeteria, there's only one word to describe what happened next... "Oh, this is so chaotic," smiles a voter.
"Things are looking like an enormous increase in party membership, like 80-percent of the people in line are joining the party for the first time," says Jim Shon, a volunteer. So many people joined- within thirty minutes they had to open up another facility on campus to accommodate the crowd.
"Clearly we are overwhelmed. District 26 district 26 please go to the auditorium," announces a volunteer in the megaphone. Many remained flexible and found their own ways to get their hands on a ballot.
Some even parked illegally across the street, until the Honolulu Police Department put an end to that. They ticketed every one that blocked the sidewalk..and even towed some away.
Historically, there has been around 5000 voters that show up for Hawaii caucuses. This year, there was at least four times more.
There wasn't enough ballots, parking spots, or volunteers to accommodate all the voters that showed up.
"This is unbelievable. I've never seen so many people," says Terry Hunt, a volunteer with the Obama Campaign. Because the race between Clinton and Obama is so close, they were determined to make their vote count.
But as the night wore on, so did people's patience. "It looks like there is no parking," says Marilyn Schank, a driver.
When the doors opened to the cafeteria, there's only one word to describe what happened next... "Oh, this is so chaotic," smiles a voter.
"Things are looking like an enormous increase in party membership, like 80-percent of the people in line are joining the party for the first time," says Jim Shon, a volunteer. So many people joined- within thirty minutes they had to open up another facility on campus to accommodate the crowd.
"Clearly we are overwhelmed. District 26 district 26 please go to the auditorium," announces a volunteer in the megaphone. Many remained flexible and found their own ways to get their hands on a ballot.
Some even parked illegally across the street, until the Honolulu Police Department put an end to that. They ticketed every one that blocked the sidewalk..and even towed some away.
Historically, there has been around 5000 voters that show up for Hawaii caucuses. This year, there was at least four times more.
Voters went to wrong polling site
By
Marisa Yamane
Stevenson Middle School in Makiki also had a large turnout, with more than a thousand voters.
While no cars were towed or police citations handed out like at Kawananakoa Middle School, at Stevenson Middle School, one of the biggest problems was voters being at the wrong polling site.
It started with confusion.
"I'm here and seeing this and it says another school, so I'm going to go over to another school and see if it's there," said Makiki resident Andy Cross.
The first voters to show up at Stevenson Middle School were told they're at the wrong polling site.
For many of the people, this was their first time participating in a caucus.
Parking was a big problem.
Another problem --not enough books to look up voter information, as more people learned they're at the wrong site.
"But we're going to the other site. I'm going to give this lady a ride, she's going to give me a ride total stranger. This is why people no vote."
At seven o'clock, the voting got underway, as the line outside kept growing, as more people learned, they're at the wrong site.
"I quit, I give up. (So you're not going to go to the other site?) No, not after waiting a good 45 minutes in this line so I am choosing not to wait another 45 minutes at the other polling location," said Makiki resident Michelle Montes.
And remember Andy Cross -- he was one of the first voters, and was told to go to another site? Well, he went.
"And they said you have to come back here, so I came back here," said Cross.
Despite the initial mixup, he says the voting went smoothly and quickly.
"It should be much better in the years to come," said Cross.
The voting at Stevenson Middle School wrapped up about an hour ago.
The volunteers running that site say they were pleased that for the most part, the voters there were very civilized and didn't complain too much.
While no cars were towed or police citations handed out like at Kawananakoa Middle School, at Stevenson Middle School, one of the biggest problems was voters being at the wrong polling site.
It started with confusion.
"I'm here and seeing this and it says another school, so I'm going to go over to another school and see if it's there," said Makiki resident Andy Cross.
The first voters to show up at Stevenson Middle School were told they're at the wrong polling site.
For many of the people, this was their first time participating in a caucus.
Parking was a big problem.
Another problem --not enough books to look up voter information, as more people learned they're at the wrong site.
"But we're going to the other site. I'm going to give this lady a ride, she's going to give me a ride total stranger. This is why people no vote."
At seven o'clock, the voting got underway, as the line outside kept growing, as more people learned, they're at the wrong site.
"I quit, I give up. (So you're not going to go to the other site?) No, not after waiting a good 45 minutes in this line so I am choosing not to wait another 45 minutes at the other polling location," said Makiki resident Michelle Montes.
And remember Andy Cross -- he was one of the first voters, and was told to go to another site? Well, he went.
"And they said you have to come back here, so I came back here," said Cross.
Despite the initial mixup, he says the voting went smoothly and quickly.
"It should be much better in the years to come," said Cross.
The voting at Stevenson Middle School wrapped up about an hour ago.
The volunteers running that site say they were pleased that for the most part, the voters there were very civilized and didn't complain too much.
"E huikau ana 'oe!?", said one voter. "I am going to be confused!?"
What's for Dinner?
Poke, Sui Mai, Steamed White Crabs, Green Seaweed with Ginger Shoyu dipping sauce
