Josh Green, Tokuda and Ed Case cruise to re-election victory

UPDATE: 8 p.m.

The first printout of the Hawaii General Election results has arrived. Josh Green, Ed Case and Jill Tokuda cruise to re-election victory. See the full results.

7:10 p.m.

The deadline to get in line to vote or drop a ballot in the election drop boxes has passed. Anyone still on line at the voting centers throughout the islands at 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote.

The first election results will be released shortly after the last person in line at 7 p.m. casts their ballot, state election officials said.

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Last-minute voters flocked to the state’s voting centers to cast their ballots on Election Day as Hawaii chooses its governor, U.S. representatives, and a host of state and county offices.

For their votes to be counted, voters must either return their ballots to a ballot drop-box or be in line at the voter centers by 7 p.m. today. It’s too late to use the U.S. Postal Service to vote, as mail-in ballots must also be received by county election officials by 7 p.m. tonight.

Mail-in voting has been widely preferred by Hawaii voters over the last several elections but as of Monday morning, ballots arriving across Oahu through the mail were down 27% compared with the same point in the 2022 midterm election, according to Rex Quidilla, administrator for Honolulu’s elections division.

Ballots placed in drop boxes by Monday, however, were up 32% with the same point in 2022, and early in-person voting was up 13%.

Overall, as of Monday, 249,140 votes had been returned by voters across Hawaii, with Oahu representing the overwhelming majority of ballots cast, or 160,137, according to state elections data.

This year, Honolulu voters will decide between two state constitutional amendments, along with 20 county charter amendments.

Voters who cast their ballots in person today could spend as much as 45 minutes in the voting booth because “we have such a long ballot, especially if you have to register to vote,” said Colin Moore, who teaches public policy at the University of Hawaii.

Hawaii’s top races this year are for governor and for Hawaii’s two congressional representatives. Gov. Josh Green appears poised for re-­election to a second term, with his new lieutenant governor running mate, outgoing Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami. They are being challenged by Republican candidates Gary Cordery for governor and Daniel Anthony for lieutenant governor.

U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda faces a long-shot challenge from Republican state Sen. Brenton Awa (R, Kaneohe­-Laie-­Mokuleia) to represent rural Honolulu and the neighbor islands, while U.S. Rep. Case faces little challenge in his re-election bid to represent urban Honolulu.

Maui and Kauai County voters will be selecting their next mayors; Honolulu voters in two districts will be voting for their City Council representatives; and voters throughout the state will be voting in 31 contested state House races and for six state Senate seats.

The first Hawaii election results are expected soon after the last person in line at 7 p.m. gets to cast their ballot. The first results have included 85% of the votes or more in recent elections that have been

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