Elections in Hawaii |
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Elections in Hawaii are held for various local, state, and federal seats in the state of Hawaii. Regular elections are held every even year, although special elections may be held to fill vacancies at other points in time. The primary election is held on the second Saturday in August, while the general election is held on Election Day, which is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. [1]
In a 2020 study, Hawaii was ranked as the 6th easiest state for citizens to vote in. [2]
Hawaii participates in federal elections along with every other state in the United States. The state votes on electors for president and vice president, as well as legislators to represent it in Congress.
Since its admission in 1959, Hawaii has participated in 16 indirect presidential elections which have been held every four years since 1960. The state is currently delegated four electors to the Electoral College which has remained unchanged since 1964. Candidates for president and vice president are listed on the ballot either as nominees of a qualified political party, or as a petitioned candidate who represents an unqualified party or group. [3]
Hawaii is represented in the United States Senate by two senators. They are elected to six-year terms through statewide elections with candidates nominated by political parties through partisan primary elections. Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz serve as the state's current senators. Hirono was last elected in 2018 and is up for re-election in 2024, while Schatz was last elected in 2022 and is up for re-election in 2028.
Additionally, Hawaii is represented in the United States House of Representatives by two members of Congress, whom are elected in the two congressional districts to two-year terms. The districts are reapportioned every ten years following the release of a new census. The state's current representatives are Ed Case, who represents the 1st district , and Kai Kahele, who represents the 2nd district . They were last elected in 2022 and are both up for re-election in 2024.
Hawaii also holds elections for its own state government.
The governor and lieutenant governor are the only statewide elected executive offices. Candidates for both offices are nominated in separate primary elections and run as a party-nominated ticket in the general election. They are elected to four-year terms and are limited from serving more than two consecutive terms, although a governor is eligible for re-election if they were out of office for at least one election cycle. The current governor is Josh Green, serving with lieutenant governor Sylvia Luke. They were elected in 2022. Green is eligible for re-election in 2026.
All twenty-five members of the Hawaii Senate are elected in single-member constituent districts. The senate follows a 2-4-4 term system; every ten years, senators are elected to two-year terms, while the next four elections are held for four-year terms in half of the senate's seats. The current composition of the senate was elected in 2020 and 2022; all seats will be up for election in 2024.
All fifty-one members of the Hawaii House of Representatives are elected to two-year terms in single-member constituent districts. The current composition of the house was elected in 2022; all seats will be up for election in 2024.
Office of Hawaiian Affairs
All nine members of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees are elected in nonpartisan statewide contests. Trustees are elected to a four-year term by general election of Hawaii registered voters. The islands of Oahu, Kauai, Maui, Molokai, and Hawai‘i each have one representative trustee; the rest serve in an at-large capacity. The current composition of the board was elected in 2022; the trustees for Maui, Kauai, and Molokai, and two at-large seats, will be up for election in 2024.
There are six registered political parties in Hawaii: [4]
To a political party to qualify, it must petition for signatures of at least 0.1% of total registered voters as of the previous general election. The petition is due 170 days before the primary election. For a registered party to remain qualified, it must have run a candidate in the previous general election for any statewide office or U.S. Representative seat whose incumbent was either barred from or chose not to run for re-election. Additionally, the party must have satisfied at least one of the following requirements in the previous election:
Hawaii is unique in that it is the only state in the country in which independent or candidates run in a primary election to qualify as the sole Nonpartisan candidate in the general election. To appear on the ballot, these candidates must either receive 10% of the total primary votes for the office, or receive more votes than the lowest vote received by a partisan candidate. [5]
2016 | 2014
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2012 | See alsoRelated Research ArticlesSince Hawaii became a state in 1959, it has sent congressional delegations to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives. Each state elects two senators to serve for six years. Members of the House of Representatives are elected to two-year terms, one from each of Hawaii's congressional districts. Before becoming a state, the Territory of Hawaii elected a non-voting delegate at-large to Congress from 1900 to 1958. Linda Lingle is an American politician who served as the sixth governor of Hawaii from 2002 to 2010. She was the first Republican elected governor of Hawaii since 1959, and was the state's first female and first Jewish governor. Prior to serving as governor, Lingle served as mayor of Maui County from 1991 to 1999 and as chair of the Hawaii Republican Party from 1999 to 2002. Edward Espenett Case is an American lawyer and Democratic politician. Since 2019, he has served as the U.S. representative for Hawaii's 1st congressional district, which covers the urban core of Honolulu. He represented the 2nd district, which covers the rest of the state, from 2002 to 2007. Mazie Keiko Hirono is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Hawaii since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Hirono previously served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district from 2007 to 2013. Hirono also served as a member of the Hawaii House of Representatives from 1981 to 1995 and as Hawaii's tenth lieutenant governor from 1994 to 2002, under Ben Cayetano. She was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for governor of Hawaii in 2002, defeated by Republican Linda Lingle in the general election. Campbell "Cam" Cavasso, is an American politician, businessman and perennial candidate. A Republican, Cavasso served three terms in the Hawaii House of Representatives from 1985 to 1991, and would later run for both chambers of the United States Congress in 2004, 2010, 2014, and 2018. The Kansas Republican Party is the state affiliate political party in Kansas of the United States Republican Party. The Kansas Republican Party was organized in May 1859. The 2006 Hawaii gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Linda Lingle was the first Republican to be elected governor of Hawaii since 1959. Although 2006 was a strong election year for Democrats, Lingle won re-election by a landslide owing to an economic rebound in the state that occurred during her tenure after a shaky decade for the state economy during the 1990s and early 2000s. As of 2024, this is the last time Republicans won a statewide election in Hawaii, as well as the only time in Hawaii history that a Republican governor was re-elected. Additionally, this alongside 1972 United States presidential election were the only two times Republicans won the state with more than 60% of the vote. Elections in California are held to fill various local, state and federal seats. In California, regular elections are held every even year ; however, some seats have terms of office that are longer than two years, so not every seat is on the ballot in every election. Special elections may be held to fill vacancies at other points in time. Recall elections can also be held. Additionally, statewide initiatives, legislative referrals and referendums may be on the ballot. United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 5, 2002, in 36 states and two territories. The Republicans won eight seats previously held by the Democrats, as well as the seat previously held by Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura, who was elected on the Reform Party ticket but had since renounced his party affiliation. The Democrats won 10 seats previously held by the Republicans, as well as the seat previously held by Maine governor Angus King, an independent. The elections were held concurrently with the other United States elections of 2002. The politics of Oklahoma exists in a framework of a presidential republic modeled after the United States. The governor of Oklahoma is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform two-party system. Executive power is exercised by the governor and the government. Legislative power is vested in the governor and the bicameral Oklahoma Legislature. Judicial power is vested in the judiciary of Oklahoma. The political system is laid out in the 1907 Oklahoma Constitution. Elections in Vermont are authorized under Chapter II of the Vermont State Constitution, articles 43–49, which establishes elections for the state level officers, cabinet, and legislature. Articles 50–53 establish the election of county-level officers. The 2010 Hawaii gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 2010, to elect the next Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii. Incumbent Republican Governor Linda Lingle was term-limited and not eligible to run for re-election. The Democratic Party nominated Neil Abercrombie, and the Republican Party nominated incumbent Lieutenant Governor Duke Aiona. In the election, Abercrombie won and was sworn in as the state's 7th Governor on December 6, 2010. Aiona later unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Hawaii in 2014 and 2022. The Government of Mississippi is the government of the U.S. state of Mississippi. Power in Mississippi's government is distributed by the state's Constitution between the executive and legislative branches. The state's current governor is Tate Reeves. The Mississippi Legislature consists of the House of Representatives and Senate. Mississippi is one of only five states that elects its state officials in odd numbered years. Mississippi holds elections for these offices every four years in the years preceding Presidential election years. The 2010 congressional elections in Hawaii was held on November 2, 2010, to determine who was to represent the state of Hawaii in the United States House of Representatives for the 112th Congress from January 2011, until their terms of office expire in January 2013. The 2012 United States Senate election in Hawaii took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic senator Daniel Akaka decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth full term. Democrat Mazie Hirono defeated Republican Linda Lingle in a rematch of Hawaii’s 2002 gubernatorial election. This was the first open Senate seat in the state of Hawaii since 1976. The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Hawaii were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 to elect the two U.S. representatives from the state, one from each of the state's two congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election and an election for the United States Senate. Primary elections were held on August 11, 2012. The 2018 United States Senate elections were held on November 6, 2018. Among the 100 seats, the 33 of Class 1 were contested in regular elections while 2 others were contested in special elections due to Senate vacancies in Minnesota and Mississippi. The regular election winners were elected to 6-year terms running from January 3, 2019, to January 3, 2025. Senate Democrats had 26 seats up for election, while Senate Republicans had 9 seats up for election. The 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Hawaii were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014 to elect the two U.S. representatives from the state of Hawaii, one from each of the state's two congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including an election for Governor of Hawaii and a special election to the United States Senate. North Dakota has held two statewide elections in 2020: a primary election on Tuesday, June 9, and a general election on Tuesday, November 3. In addition, each township has elected officers on Tuesday, March 17, and each school district held their elections on a date of their choosing between April 1 and June 30. The 2022 Vermont Senate election took place on November 8, 2022, as part of the biennial United States elections. The election coincided with elections for other offices including the U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Governor, and State House. Vermont voters elected all 30 state senators from 16 districts, with each district electing between one and three senators. State senators serve two-year terms in the Vermont Senate. Primary elections were held on August 9, 2022. This election will be the first to use new districts adopted by the Vermont General Assembly to allocate for population changes across the state after the 2020 census. References
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