Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 33, Number 11, 1 November 2016 — VOTING IS OUR KULEANA [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

VOTING IS OUR KULEANA

By Meredith Desha Enos As you may have noticed, we at Ka Wai Ola are very interested in voting - specifically, your voting. Now as Election Day (Nov. 8 — mark your calendars!) quickly draws near, our hnal pieee in this eleehon cycle is this handy guide to a stressfree Election Day: • Polls are open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and will stay open until everyone who is in line at 6 has a ehanee to cast their ballots. • You have a two-hour window, outside of luneh and breaks, to vote. This does not apply if an employee has two consecutive hours off before or after work while polls are open. Just be sure to take your stub back to the office as proof. • If you have already registered, you should have received a Notice of Voter Registration and Address Confirmation (NVRAC) card - aka, the yellow card - with your polling plaee loeahon. You may not vote at another polling loeahon, but you may drop off an absentee ballot at any polling plaee. • If you voted by mail but aren't sure they will get it in time, you ean always give a provisional vote, whieh cancels out the inperson vote if the mailed in one gets to the Office of Elections on time. • At polling locations, no electioneering is allowed within 100 feet - whieh means it should be a candidate-free space. Anyone wearing a candidate's t-shirt, promising free stuff, or otherwise promoting a specific party or candidate will be asked to leave. • First-time voters ean bring a bill with your address or a photo ID. Houseless folks ean also vote! Retuming voters don't needa

photo ID, but will then be asked to provide some corroborating information. • If you need assistance - including help reading the ballot, working the maehine, any kind of physical assistance - just ask, or honk your horn as you pull up the polling plaee. • You ean get assistance with voting, but it can't be your boss, union leader or agent. • No one ean tell you whieh candidate to piek, and please let the voting officials know if someone is trying to buy your vote or otherwise coerce you. You don't have to vote along party lines, and you don't have to report your vote to anyone. • In the first congressional district, remember there are two elections: a speeial eleehon to fill the seat left vacant by the death of U.S. Rep. Mark Takai from November to January, and the regular eleetion to fill that seat for the next two years. Some candidates will appear on the ballot twice. Voters should consider voting in both races. • Ballots are available in several languages. • You ean take printed materials with you (such as Ka Wai 01a's candidate guide) to help inform your decisions. • You ean bring children under age 18 into the booth with you. • If you make a mistake with your ballot, you ean get another one. • There is no photography allowed at the polling plaee. If you have further questions, please visit the Office of Elections website, http:// elections.hawaii.gov/, or eall them: (808) 453-VOTE (8683). And remember: You vote is your voice! ■

GOVERNANGE To restore pono and ea, Native Hawaiians will achieve self-gover-nanee, after whieh the assets of OHAwillhe transferred to the new governing entity.

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lf you care about Hawai'i's future, voice your opinion by voting Nov. 8.. - Photo: Thinkstock