Are you registered to vote? If you want to vote from home, the deadline to register for the Aug. 8 Primary Election is Thursday, July 9, at 4:30 p.m.

Simply visit elections.hawaii.gov and click “Register to Vote.” You must have a current Hawaii Driver’s License or State ID to enter the online voter registration system.

Another option is to print a Voter Registration Application from elections.hawaii.gov/voters/applications – or pick one up at the library or Post Office – and take it to the Office of the County Clerk in the County Building before the deadline.

If you need help, call the state Office of Elections at 1-800-442-VOTE.

In a move that should improve Hawaii’s terrible voter turnout, starting this year we will all vote by mail.

“Now registered voters simply receive their packet in the mail, complete the ballot in the privacy of their own home and safely mail it before Primary Election Day. There are no polling places on Election Day,” the Office of Elections explained in its 2020 Hawaii Primary Election Guide.

The Primary Election ballots are to be delivered July 21.

If you miss the July 9 deadline, on July 27, Maui’s Primary Voter Service Center opens at the Velma McWayne Santos Community Center at 395 Waena St. in Wailuku.

The center will be open July 27 through Aug. 7, Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 8, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., for in-person voting and same-day voter registration.

For more information, visit the Hawaii Office of Elections website at elections.hawaii.gov. You can even have a look at your primary ballot coming by mail.

The race for the West Maui County Council seat is a good one, with incumbent Tamara Paltin battling Sne Patel and Rick Nava.

No excuses this year! Fill out your ballot and mail it in.