Election calendar
Next month’s special congressional election has been described as a winner-take-all situation. That is, without having to go through a primary process, the person who has racked up the most votes at 6pm on May 22 will have about seven months to complete former U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie’s term (Abercrombie resigned in February to run for governor).
Come September, our soon-to-be-elected interim congressperson–assuming she or he wants to keep the job–may be thrust back into campaigning for the seat he or she just won. That’s when primary elections will determine whose names will be on the ticket in November’s general election. Here’s the run-down on the next half-year election schedule in Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District.
May 3
Registered voters who live in Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District begin to receive ballots via mail.
May 10
Early walk-in voting begins at Honolulu Hale, 530 S. King St., Mondays through Thursdays from 8am–4pm.
May 20
Last day of early voting.
May 22
Office of elections must receive all ballots by 6pm. Ballots that are postmarked but not received in time don’t count. Elections officers expect to announce a winner sometime after the deadline that night, and the person who gets the most votes becomes the congressional representative upon election.
Future Dates
July 20: Deadline for filing candidacy papers for the general election.
August 19: Deadline to register to vote in the primary election.
September 18: Primary election.
October 4: Deadline to register to vote in the general election.
November 2: General election.
January 2011: Term ends for the person elected on May 22, 2010.
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