Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 7, Number 7, 1 July 1990 — Native Hawaiians organize to get vote out [ARTICLE]

Native Hawaiians organize to get vote out

With an estimated 120,000 Hawaiians in the state who are eligible to vote, the Hawaiian voice in Hawaii's government has the potential to be mueh louder than it is now. Considering that fewer than 500,000 people in the state will end up registering to vote, Hawaiians, as a bloc, have an opportunity to make Hawaiian issues a priority at Honolulu Hale, the state capitol, even Capitol Hill.

The problem, though, is that only about half of the eligible Hawaiians register. And fewer make it to the polls on eleehon day. To help improve this situation, Hawaiian Services, lnstitutions and Agencies (HSIA) has mounted a united effort to register as many eligible Hawaiian voters as possible this year, and to get as many to the polls as possible for the primary and general elections. "Our objective is to get more Hawaiians registered than ever before," says Sherl Franklin, HSIA's coordinator for this project. "We are working closely with the Lt. Governor's office, and we will tap as many resources in the community as we ean to get the job done."

While HSIA's efforts are just getting underway, the group received some good news from the State Council of Hawaiian Homestead Associations: SCHHA has already signed up an estimated 7,000 new voters through its own homestead initiatives.

Building on this success, HS1A volunteers will be setting up registration booths statewide, going door-to-door, hiring buses, and doing whatever else it takes to register Hawaiians and get them to the polls.

"This is a non-partisan effort," Franklin points out. "We don't care who they vote for; the main thing is that they get out and vote." Among HSIA's members are Alu Like, ine.,

Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, Bishop Museum, Department of Hawaiian Homes Lands, E Ola Mau, Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate, Lunalilo Home, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Papa Ola Lokahi, Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center, and the State Council of Hawaiian Homestead Associations. For more information, eall the Lieutenant Governor's Office at 453-8683.