{"id":2781,"date":"2026-07-18T13:04:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T13:04:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2781"},"modified":"2026-07-18T13:04:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T13:04:28","slug":"what-to-know-about-hawaiis-primary-election-ballots-voting-centers-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2781","title":{"rendered":"What to know about Hawaii\u2019s primary election: Ballots, voting centers, results"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<section>\n<p>HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) &#8211; With the primary election approaching Aug. 8, state and city election officials are urging voters to watch for their mail ballots, follow ballot instructions closely and return ballots early.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2779\">Kauai festival honors island\u2019s plantation roots in Koloa<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>When ballots arrive and when to return them<\/h2>\n<p>Honolulu elections administrator Rex Quidilla said ballot mailings were scheduled to drop on July 16 and 17, with some potentially arriving as early as the next day.<\/p>\n<p>Voters have until 7 p.m. Aug. 8 to return their voted ballot to their County Elections Division by: <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Quidilla said those who choose to return their ballot by mail should note, \u201cUSPS guidance is about a week before. It travels a little quicker than that, though, but I wouldn\u2019t risk it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If you are in line at a voter service center by the time voting closes at 7 p.m. you will still be allowed to vote. Officials will mark the end of the line, and anyone who leaves will not be permitted to rejoin.<\/p>\n<p>View an interactive map of 2026 voter service centers and places of deposit (drop boxes).<\/p>\n<p>In addition to two full-time voter service centers at Honolulu Hale and Kapolei Hale, Quidilla says two pop-up voter service centers will be open in Wahiawa and Kaneohe from Monday, Aug. 3, through Friday, Aug. 7, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe usually open the Kaneohe (center), shut that one down, and then Wahiawa follows it,\u201d Quidilla said. \u201cThe idea was to keep it open closer to the election, we might get more interest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b>On the go? Listen to the full interview as a podcast:<\/b><\/p>\n<div>\n<div><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; fullscreen\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"180\" src=\"https:\/\/omny.fm\/shows\/hawaii-news-now\/hawaii-officials-defend-local-election-security\/embed?media=audio&amp;size=wide&amp;style=cover\" title=\"What to know about Hawaii\u2019s primary election: Ballots, voting centers, results\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Party choice matters in Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s primary<\/h2>\n<p>Hawai\u02bbi runs a single-party primary election, which means voters should first select their party on the ballot and then vote only within that party.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe important thing to do is select your party, because we are a single-party primary election. Select your party first and then only vote in that party you selected,\u201d state chief elections officer Scott Nago emphasized. \u201cYou can only vote for one party as well as the non-partisan candidates on the back, or contests on the back.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Officials note that choosing a party on the primary ballot is not a commitment to that party in the Nov. 3 general election.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the general, it\u2019s a little different because you can vote for any party in any contest,\u201d Nago said.<\/p>\n<h2>Don\u2019t forget to sign the return envelope<\/h2>\n<p>Quidilla stressed voters must sign the return envelope, calling it a legal requirement, and said there is a curing process if a signature is missing.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2777\">Voters and candidates meet face-to-face at primary election forum<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey should sign the envelope. It\u2019s the law,\u201d Quidilla said. \u201cWe can\u2019t accept a blank envelope. So make sure you do, but we\u2019ll follow up with you if you didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Quidilla said his office compares the signature on the return envelope to a previously submitted signature, such as one on a voter registration form.<\/p>\n<p><b>DOWNLOAD: <\/b>(also available in multiple languages)<\/p>\n<h2>How ballots are kept private, and how they\u2019re counted<\/h2>\n<p>Nago said ballot packets include a secrecy sleeve and that election workers use a two-step process to separate identifying envelopes from ballots.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s almost impossible for us to know how you voted because of that secrecy sleeve that protects your vote,\u201d Nago said. \u201cOnce we remove the ballot from the envelope, we have no way of knowing which ballot is tied to the envelope.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Nago said ballots are transported in sealed boxes to counting centers in each county \u2014 including the state Capitol \u2014 where they are counted on high-speed scanners. The results are compiled to produce a statewide report.<\/p>\n<p><b>RELATED POST: <\/b><b>Hawaii officials defend local election security<\/b><\/p>\n<h2>When results are released<\/h2>\n<p>Officials said results cannot be released until voting has completed, meaning the first results depend on when the last voter finishes voting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cState law prohibits us from releasing results until voting has completed. So we have to wait till the last voter has voted, which, like I said, historically has been as late as 11:30 (p.m.),\u201d Nago said.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Quidilla said long lines are typically seen during presidential elections, which are not taking place this year.<\/p>\n<p>Still, he urged in-person voters to go early: \u201cIf you want to do it, do it early. You\u2019re in and out in minutes. But if you come on the last day, prepare to wait a little while. It\u2019s like anything, right? When you go at peak demand, there\u2019s going to be a wait.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Be sure to follow Hawaii News Now on air, online, and via our mobile app to get the results as soon as their released.<\/p>\n<h2>Tools to check your registration, ballot status and candidates<\/h2>\n<p>Voters can check their registration online and sign up for BallotTrax, a ballot tracking tool that can send updates by phone, text or email.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2775\">Rocky\u2019s 16th monk seal pup to end nursing period soon<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Use the state\u2019s  to learn more about the voting process and candidates.<\/p>\n<p>Visit the Hawaii Office of Elections website for more information.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Officials say Hawai\u02bbi ballots are dropping July 16\u201317. Sign the return envelope and return ballots early; the deadline is 7 p.m. Aug. 8.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What to know about Hawaii\u2019s primary election: Ballots, voting centers, results - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2781\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What to know about Hawaii\u2019s primary election: Ballots, voting centers, results - Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Officials say Hawai\u02bbi ballots are dropping July 16\u201317. 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