Olajuwon Roberts

American Presidency

Political Participation in Hawaii

In the presidential election, states hold an important role in the determination process of
which candidate receives its electoral votes and who actually gets voted into the White House.
Each state has two electoral votes, which is equal to the number of senators for each state, plus
its number of members in the United States House of Representatives, which varies depending
on state population. Lets take a look at Hawaii, and examine its voting behavior,
competitiveness, and demographics that lead to its voting style.
To begin with, Hawaii is and always has been predominately democratic. Since the 1976
election, Hawaii has voted for the democratic candidate every time an election was held except
for in the 1984 election (The democratic candidate in that election Walter Mondale had only
won one state). In the 2000 election, 56% of the state voted for Al Gore (Democratic candidate)
and he ended up receiving its four electoral votes. The next presidential election had similar
results being won by Democratic nominee John Kerry by an 8.7% margin of victory in 2004. The
following two elections, in 2008 and 2012, President Barrack Obama - also the democratic
candidate - swept the voting polls in Hawaii winning by a 45.3% margin in the first election and
a 42.2% margin in the second. Hawaii has consistently voted for the Democratic Party in
presidential elections over the past years. Hawaii has 25 state senators and only one is a
republican.
Hawaii has been given the title of being The State That Doesnt Vote due to its
overwhelming low numbers of voter turnouts. In 2008, Hawaii had the lowest voter turnout in
the nation, with less than half of its registered voters actually voting. It is considered a non-

Olajuwon Roberts
American Presidency
competitive state in the presidential elections. Presidential candidates dont waste funding to visit
Hawaii during their campaigns.
Demographics and the culture within Hawaii play a major role in why politics arent that
important to Hawaiians. Hawaii has a unique and complicated history with the United States and
some residents believe the U.S. is illegally occupying their islands and dont vote on principle. A
lot of residents on these islands feel like they are not American citizens, so they feel no need to
vote. The traditional environment of Hawaii is very relaxed state and a typical day consists of
work and enjoying the beautiful beach and its wave - no politics involved. A perfect example is
Maui County Councilwoman Elle Cochran. She never voted until she ran for office. The culture
of Hawaii and the other 49 states has no resemblance and Hawaiians want us to be aware of that.
The individuals on the island who do vote, vote with hopes that it will eventually restore the
Hawaiian kingdom. Politics arent emphasized in Hawaiian schools, so most individuals dont
know how to register to vote.
Another major contributing factor to Hawaiis low voter turnout is its unique time-zone
issue. If you dont get to the polls early, theres a good chance youll know who the winner is
before you get a chance to cast your vote. Two solutions have been proposed to solve to this
problem: 1. allowing Hawaii to vote a day early in the presidential election, or 2. abolish the
Electoral College.
Based on the 2012 results and the trends in voting behavior of Hawaii, I believe this state
will become less competitive in the future. This state is dominated by democrats; more than 65%
of the registered voters in the state are democrats. Not to mention, Hawaiian citizens dont trust

Olajuwon Roberts
American Presidency
the polling places. In this past years primary election some polling places opened late because
voter registries never got delivered. The state is trying to step in to make sure this doesnt happen
again but some people say theyre done with voting.