KAILUA-KONA — It was excitement, confusion, and yes — frustration.
KAILUA-KONA — It was excitement, confusion, and yes — frustration.
The level of new voter participation in last Saturday’s Presidential Preference Poll, along with voters left in the cold after the doors closed, has party officials looking at ways to improve the process in the future.
In all, the Big Island cast 7,254 ballots, up 23.6 percent from the 5,868 total for 2008, when masses of voters came out to support Barack Obama.
“I never thought it would happen,” said Phil Barnes, Hawaii County chairman for the Democrats.
Bernie Sanders took 5,605 votes, and 1,649 ballots were cast for Hillary Clinton. The energy that helped propel Sanders’ big win also led to long lines and highlighted a lack of knowledge about how the process works, with some voters failing to show up on time and others looking to the wrong sources for voting information.
Read the complete story in the Wednesday edition of West Hawaii Today.