Electoral College Dropout

Sure,
the local Republican and Democratic parties boost their respective presidential
candidates, but Hawai’i doesn’t even seem to be on the radar for the national
campaigns.

Industry insiders tell us that neither the Bush nor the Kerry
camp spent any money on local television ads. The reason President George Bush
visited last year probably had more to do with our convenience as a stopover (on
a return trip from an Asia-Pacific economic forum) than a desire to greet his
peeps in Hawai’i. And-the biggest snub of all-on general election nights, news
networks such as CNN call Hawai’i for the Democratic candidate before our polls
even close, usually ahead of the state’s first printout of voting results.

What
are we? Electoral chopped liver?

“We don’t really matter very much to them,”
says Ira Rohter, University of Hawai’i political scientist. “It’s clear that we’re
a dominantly Democratic state, but the presidential campaigns have mainly focused
their resources on places where it would make a difference. Hawai’i is not a swing
state. Putting money in Hawai’i isn’t gonna make a difference.”

Voter David Hsu leaves the polling booth. Honolulu Star-Bulletin Photo by FL Morris

True, Bush and Sen. John Kerry
are very busy pressing the flesh in states they consider more strategically important.
And yes, Hawai’i only has about 626,000 registered voters and a measly four electoral
votes. But the candidates might think twice about showing us some love if they
really knew who they were dealing with:

oHawai’i hasn’t always voted Democratic.
In 1972, we re-elected Richard Nixon, and in ’84, we did the same for Ronald Reagan.

o The 2004 presidential race is a lot closer in Hawai’i than you’d think.
In August, a statewide Honolulu Star-Bulletin and KITV-4 News poll found that
while 48 percent of registered voters surveyed supported Kerry, 41 percent favored
Bush.

o Hawai’i residents have given more than a million dollars to both
presidential campaigns this election cycle, more than several states with comparable
populations, including Iowa, West Virginia and Maine, according to the nonprofit,
nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics research group based in Washington,
D.C.

o The clear winner in local fund-raising? Bush, not Kerry. Hawai’i
residents gave Bush more than $860,000, three times the $260,000 Kerry raised
locally as of Aug. 31, the center reports.

And if Florida 2000 taught the
nation anything, it’s that every vote counts.

“Our state has a reputation
for lower voter turnout, but it’s not as if this has been a kind of lackadaisical
backwater for political mobilization,” says UH political science professor Neal
Milner. “Some of the real modern work in using the media in politics was developed
here in the Burns-Gill campaign. What the Democrats did here in the 1950s was
bring people from the grassroots. [Republican Gov. Linda] Lingle did a real good
job of that in 2002.”

Times are a-changin’, just like Hawai’i’s political
landscape. Maybe presidential candidates’ opinion of the 50th state should, as
well.

NOVEMBER HEADS UP! Registered voters, don’t forget to stop by the polling booths this month to vote for America’s next president. It’s General Election Day on Nov. 2. Veteran’s Day, formerly known as Armistice Day, is Thursday, Nov. 11. This day marks the anniversary of the official end of World War I. In 1954, Nov. 11 was renamed to honor veterans of all U.S. wars. It’s also a state and federal holiday. Nov. 15 is Clean Your Refrigerator Day, so throw away some of those leftovers. You’ll want more room in your refrigerator for the pumpkin pies you can’t finish on Thanksgiving, which falls on Thursday, Nov. 25 this year. Nov. 26 marks the beginning of the Christmas holiday shopping season. The day after Thanksgiving has been known to be one of the busiest shopping days of the year. It’s also a holiday for many schools. Great news! Store those flashlights for next year, because hurricane season officially ends on Nov. 30. November is also Child Safety Protection Month, National Adoption Awareness Month, National Epilepsy Month and Peanut Butter Lovers Month.