The State That Doesn't Vote

Due to its low voter turnout rate, Hawaii has been named the “state that doesn’t vote.” In fact, Hawaii is the state with the lowest voter turnout rate in the nation. Even in 2008 when Barack Obama, a native of Hawaii, was running for president, fewer than half of eligible Hawaii residents showed up to cast their votes. The first few pages of this extremely large article discuss several reasons for voter abstention that we discussed in class.

For several years after statehood in 1959, more than 90% of registered voters in Hawaii participated in the elections. Today, however, enthusiasm has died. One popular reason for low voter turnout was that voters believe the Democratic Party controls everything in the state, and that their vote would not make a difference. In class, we talked about Johnson’s idea of rational abstention when the costs of voting outweigh the benefits. Because citizens feel their vote does not count, there is very little individual incentive to vote. Yet another case for rational abstention, some voters truly feel that their vote is worthless due to the time change; because Hawaii is six hours behind the East Coast, national elections are often called by the news media/twitter before Hawaii finishes voting. One voter even recalls driving to her polling place when she listened to the winner be announced on her car radio. For these reasons, many Hawaiians feel disconnected from the rest of the US and its politics. In addition, many believe that Hawaii and the US have nothing in common. One woman even believes that the US is illegally occupying Hawaii, and she, therefore, abstains from voting on principle.

Whatever the reason, the rational behind abstention in Hawaii is certainly not apathy, as can be inferred from the voter turnout following statehood in 1959. In addition, efforts are currently being made to increase turnout by going door to door to talk about the importance of voting and registering people to vote. Visiting people in their homes and asking them what issues are important to them, as well as asking them to vote, “is re-knitting the fabric of communities in Hawaii..it’s giving anonymous residents a voice.” As it turns out, these efforts have been quite successful in increasing voter turnout, and surveys indicate that citizens are feeling a greater connection to politics; more people feel that their participation in the political process can make a difference.