Activity was reported to be brisk at both Honolulu Hale and Kapolei Hale on the morning of Election Day, where motorists in the drive-through lanes were busy depositing their ballots into the boxes.
To get a picture of how the voter turnout was shaping up, HPR spoke with Rex Quidilla, Elections Administrator of the Honolulu Elections Division, at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport post office processing center where mail-in ballots are stored.
"Looking at the numbers from yesterday, we are about 12% down overall, but we're seeing a really good increase in drop boxes and voter service centers," Quidilla told HPR, comparing voter turnout data from the 2024 general election.
"Unfortunately, that doesn't really make up for the reduction in submissions via the United States Postal Service, which is down about 26% over the same period in 2022."
The voter service centers at Honolulu Hale and Kapolei Hale will operate until 7 p.m. to accommodate the large in-person voting turnout that is usually expected on Election Day.
"In the past two elections, we've seen in the last two days upwards of 60,000 ballots come through the drop boxes. So it's a big part of our elections now," Quidilla explained.
"In 2022, it represented about 19% of all votes cast. At this stage in 2026, it's representing 30% of the votes cast."
Quidilla encourages those seeking to drop off their ballots or vote in-person on Election Day to get in line before 7 p.m., bring a picture ID and familiarize themselves with the various amendments on the ballot.
HPR's Senior Vice President of News Bill Dorman spoke about the station's upcoming and ongoing election coverage.
"We'll have folks out in the field talking with some voters … both on Honolulu Hale up at Kapolei Hale," he said.
More live coverage and updates will be provided on air and over on the web, Dorman explained.
HPR listeners can anticipate hearing election updates during an 8 p.m. to midnight edition of Evening Jazz and learning more in an upcoming election night edition of the Akamai Recap newsletter.
Stay tuned to see HPR's live coverage of the 2026 midterm elections and their results.
This story aired on The Conversation on Nov. 3, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web.
