Elected officials at the state and county level are crying foul over the selection of only two Puna precincts for a special election, when many voters in precincts from Pahoa to Volcano were unable to get to the polls Saturday in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Iselle. Hanging in the balance is a close contest between U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz and U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa for the Democratic nomination for Senate, as well as a state House and County Council race. South Kona/Ka‘u Councilwoman Brenda Ford and Sen. Russell Ruderman, D-Puna, say many residents were blocked by fallen trees from leaving their homes. Iselle hit the southeastern side of the island hard on Thursday night, knocking out power to 30,000 homes, toppling trees, damaging structures and flooding shorelines. Some remained without power and cellphone service Monday. “This isn’t just a county election,” said Ford, whose district comes around the south end of the island from South Kona and as far into Puna as Volcano. “To deny the people the right to vote when they can’t get out of their house …”
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 20:46:52 +0000
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