Saturday was primary election day and volunteers were busy processing ballots as they came in through the mail and drop boxes.
Filled-out ballots are returned to the elections office in a secrecy sleeve to separate them from the envelope with identifying information.
Elections Commissioner Scott Nago said ballot processing is done in two separate steps to maintain secrecy.
"The first thing we do is we open up the return envelope. We remove the secrecy sleeve with the ballot still inside it, and we do all that, and then we clear it. So then we remove the ballot from the secrecy sleeve, so there's really no tie to the ballot and the voter," Nago told HPR.
While many volunteers are kūpuna, Misimatoka Unatoa, a 22-year-old, said he hopes to energize his friends to participate in the election process.
"Just the responsibility of voting in general and being a part of that, that civic duty process, I think is super important," Unatoa said.
"And because we're on the come-up, we need to be a part of that as well. And sort of inspire the next generation of students, young people here in Hawaiʻi to also do the same as well," he continued.
Other volunteers, such as Anthony Gairnese, did not support mail-in voting and that's why he decided to be a volunteer.
"I wanted to be part of the solution," he said. "I wanted to be a part of it to make sure that at least I could not just complain about it, but actually be part of the solution."
As volunteers processed the ballots, official election observers also watched the area. The observer's job is to ensure that the volunteers and elections staff are properly processing ballots.
Rene Morgan and Kelly McCanlies met when they began observing three elections ago.
"I wanted to help my friends and family who were concerned or maybe worried about certain things," Morgan said. "I wanted to just be able to come observe the process, ask questions. And I found on every level, any question I had was received graciously."
McCanlies added that through observing she had full confidence in the election process.
"I wanted to know myself and be able to tell my friends and family that, 'Yes, it's a secure process,'" she said.
"That the ballots are locked at all the right steps, that the process is very well documented and very well followed. So I thought that that was important to be able to say, 'Yes, I believe it was a fair and free election.'"
The Office of Elections counts the ballots as they come in, but those results are not released until after voting closes at 7 p.m. on Aug. 10.
People can still submit their mail-in ballots in official drop boxes located throughout the state.
