Who really controls government here in Hawaiʻi?  Who picks and chooses our elected leaders? Who decides who wins and who loses?

There’s really no mystery, no black box, no secret formula, and for sure there is no conspiracy. It’s all very simple and basic really – our government is controlled by the people who show up to vote.

There’s no magic to it all. The people who show up win.

49% of the votes in 2020 were literally left on the kitchen table. 388,058 legally registered voters who each received a ballot in the mail did not even bother to open the envelope, check a few boxes, and put it back in the mail so their votes would be counted.

David Ige defeated Colleen Hanabusa for Governor in the 2018 primary election by only 16,941 votes. In that election, 454,827 registered voters failed to show up.

Governor Ige’s election was not the result of a conspiracy. He won because more people showed up to vote for him than those that showed up to vote for his opponent. Sure, the various interest groups (unions, business, progressives, conservatives, etc) all conspired with their members and networks – encouraging them to vote for their endorsed candidate. But there was no pre-ordained or manipulated outcome controlled by Bill Gates, George Soros, or the Koch Brothers.

Yes, “big money” does exert an inappropriate amount of influence on our elections and should be controlled, minimized, and removed from the process.

Though Democrats dominate the electoral scene, the Democratic Party is not in charge. Read my 09/21/21 blog piece The Myth Of Democrats Controlling Politics And Government In Hawaiʻi.

The real culprit to be blamed for the dysfunctions within our government and political systems – are those people who don’t show up.

It’s called civic engagement and it requires a personal investment in time, energy, and yes, sometimes money as well.

I get it. We are all busy. According to a Hawaii Community Foundation survey, 70% of us struggle financially to just pay our basic bills. We have children, grandchildren, and parents to care for, and once in a while, we might like to go to the beach or read a book.

But is opening an envelope and checking a few boxes every two years too much to ask?

Please don’t complain about a lack of choices. From the mainstream to the extreme, there are a ton of choices.

For the people to win, for our children and grandchildren to win – we just gotta do a little bit of homework, Google around a bit, and then walk from our kitchen table to our mailbox twice – once in the primary and again in the general.

Those whose main interest is preserving the status quo are retirees’, establishment corporate interests, and organized labor – these folks vote. Low-income working people, the poor and underserved, the young, and the disenfranchised – typically do not vote.

This is why we have the government we have.

It’s not really that complicated.