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News > U.S.

Hawaii's People Recognize Voting as a Matter of Survival

  • Voted ballot containers in a public office, U.S., 2020.

    Voted ballot containers in a public office, U.S., 2020. | Photo: Twitter/ @KHONnews

Published 19 October 2020
Opinion

Those who once shunned elections in the past are now recognizing the real politic at play as the U.S. teeters on the brink of racist authoritarianism.

A robust optic of newly registered U.S. voters is pointing to a 2020 turnout that may likely shatter all records.  That holds true even for Hawaii which has traditionally one of the lowest voter turnout of any U.S. state.

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The reason for the paltry number is rooted in the fact that, according to the UN Commissioner on Human rights, Hawaii has been a nation Illegally occupied since 1893. Many in the native Hawaiian population, which accounts for about 1/5 of all residents, have traditionally not been enthusiastic about voting.

However, 2020 will be a watershed election with an overwhelming number of native Hawaiians not only voting but also running for office.

Those who once shunned elections in the past are now recognizing the real politic at play as the U.S. teeters on the brink of racist authoritarianism. Many of Hawaii's Indigenous people, as well as other people of color, recognize voting as a matter of survival.

Regardless of which candidate wins for president, however, both parties have slated Hawaii to play a central role in an unnecessary and long-anticipated war with China.

Hawaii is home to 11 bases including Pearl Harbor. Ironically the shoo-in candidate for U.S. Congress is a native Hawaiian lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard.

The presumed successor of Tulsi Gabbard, Kaiali'i Kahele describes himself as both a patriotic American and a proud Hawaiian. The identity politics positions him perfectly to perpetuate the neoliberal agenda pushing the war economy.

Meanwhile, peace activists in Hawaii and throughout Oceania continue to mobilize a resistance movement for a People’s Pacific.

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