Kaua‘i Election 2026

The forums are designed to provide voters and agency beneficiaries an opportunity to hear directly from candidates about issues, their priorities and the visions they would bring to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs governing board.

Otherwise, it was a night during which incumbents cleaned up in other state and federal Democratic primaries.

Current County Council chair Mel Rapozo was the top vote getter in the six candidate field for mayor, garnering 1,441 more votes than second place finisher Bernard Carvalho Jr.

Preliminary results from the Kauaʻi County Council race as of 8 a.m.

Kaua‘i Now provides the latest 2026 Hawai‘i primary election results for Kaua‘i County, including updated vote totals, candidate standings and key race results across Kaua‘i.

Kauaʻi’s competitive county elections are concluding today as voters choose who will move on to the November general election, with six candidates competing for mayor and 26 for the County Council.

The reluctance to vote for OHA is a complicated mix of Native Hawaiians who don’t want to participate in an American election system, non-Hawaiians who feel like they shouldn’t decide the agency’s leaders and voters who simply don’t know what OHA does.

Due to low turnout for elections from Native Hawaiians, two Big Island-born students developed a resource that connects the history of civic engagement in the Hawaiian Kingdom to modern voting.

Kirill Basin of Kīhei was arrested during the weekend in connection with a terroristic threatening incident at a South Maui beach; the incident follows a May 29 incident during which he allegedly entered a Maui County building while brandishing a firearm.

The top 14 vote-getters in the Saturday primary advance to the general election on Nov. 3.

The candidates, which include three current Kauaʻi County Council members, are all running to replace term-limited Derek S.K. Kawakami.

The move is in support of the Aug. 8 state primary elections; well more than 100,000 ballots already arrived as of July 30 by mail.

This year, Kauaʻi residents can vote for mayor, all seven County Council seats and various state and federal offices.

Officials urge voters to vote early so they can beat the long lines expected during the Aug. 8 state primary elections.

That includes on overpasses, fencing, signposts and poles as well as anywhere visible from the highway; illegally placed signs will be removed.

Kaua’i County elections officials also remind voters that ballots must be received — NOT postmarked — by 7 p.m. the night of the primaries, Aug. 8.

Some of the island’s most pressing environmental challenges and solutions to Kauaʻi’s solid waste and landfill concerns are at the top of the forum agenda, plus other environmental issues that impact the island.

Ballot packets are only mailed to active voters.

Hawai‘i Office of Elections also reminds state voters about how to track their ballots, troubleshooting problems and more.

The 12th annual Mayor’s Event will highlight the leadership and impact of the outgoing term-limited mayor, who is now a Democratic candidate for Hawai‘i lieutenant governor.