Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 12, 1 December 2012 — OHA campaign registers 2,400 new voters [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA campaign registers 2,400 new voters

By Lisa Asato Kahanuola Solatorio says he didn't vote in the 2010 election because it wasn't a priority, but this year the 20-year-old Papakōlea resident cast his first ballot ever thanks to an OHA voter registration campaign. "It felt good. I felt like I had a voice," said Solatorio, a University of Hawai'i-Mānoa junior who voted absentee, along with his 23-year-old brother, Kilipaki. Both were new voters registered by Amber Kalua, a good friend who worked on OHA's Hawaiian Voice, Hawaiian Vote campaign. Surpassing its goal of registering 2,000 new voters, OHA's campaign registered 2,400 voters in four months. "Over 800 registrations eame from one event alone - the Birthday Bash at Waikīkl Shell," said Joe Kūhlo Lewis, the campaign's lead coordinator. "I think it was extremely successful," Lewis said of OHA's voter-registration campaign, whieh partnered with No Vote, No Grumble and Kanu Hawai'i. "There's a lot of work that still needs to be done. This year we had a great opportunity to measure our successes, evaluate where we ean improve and next eleehon we plan to approach it in a more systenūc way, including Neighbor Islands in the effort." In Papakōlea homestead - where OHA volunteers went door to door and passed out "I Mana Ka Leo" T-shirts and yard signs reading "Native Votes Count" and "This 'Ohana Votes" - voter turnout in the general election increased from 56 percent in 2010 to 64 percent in 2012. The 64 percent turnout rate exceeds the statewide voter turnout of 62 percent. While it's hard to attribute that increase solely to OHA's efforts, Lewis said the campaign succeeded in making people aware

and interested about voting. "We brought a sense of urgency to it, and so based on that, I think we made an impact," said Lewis, of the campaign that included mailers, registration drives at conununity events and at UH campuses, and ads in print, radio and TV, as well as a web site featuring interviews with congressional candidates. Cherilyn Inouye, a Kanu Hawai'i community organizer, said the group registered 2,700 voters and canvassed 2,000 homes in Nānākuli, Wai'anae and Mānoa, as well as in Waimānalo with the help of Paul Richards and his volunteers. Inouye said from her experience going door to door, she found that people are interested in voting, but sometimes don't know how to go about doing it or don't realize they need to re-register when they mo ve. "They do care" about participating, she said, adding that Kanu will follow up with the conimunities it visited to provide information on the upconūng legislative session so voters ean continue to be engaged. "Our whole goal is to empower citizens and have their voices be heard," she said. ■

Twenty-year-old Kahanuola Solatorio, pietured with Ke'oke'o, voted in November for the first time after registering to vote through 0HA's Hawaiian Voice, Hawaiian Vote campaign. - Photo: LisaAsato