Earlier this week, Tropical Storm Iselle threatened to deter Hawaii voters from going to the polls Saturday and potentially disrupt the state’s primary election.
The storm hardly hit the islands as intensely as some feared. But the better weather didn’t come with better-than-anticipated voter turnout numbers.
As of Sunday morning, 41.4 percent — or 285,471 — of Hawaii’s 688,778 registered voters statewide cast ballots. The turnout was 43.4 percent on Oahu, 37.6 percent on the Big Island, 32.2 percent in Maui County and 47 percent in Kauai County.
Turnout numbers are according to a final summary report that has not been certified by the Elections Office, but it appeared as though voter participation was down from past years. In 2012, about 42 percent of registered voters cast ballots in the primary election. In 2010, the percentage was 43 percent.
That makes this year’s turnout one of the lowest the Aloha State has ever seen. The lowest primary turnout in the state’s history was in 2008, when just 37 percent of registered voters cast ballots.
