It came from the ballot!

Ballots
& Boos

A nonpartisan night of figuring out your ballot, together.

Oʻahu · General Election · Nov 3, 2026

BYOB!Bring Your
Own Ballot

Tonight's goal

Get started.
Not finished.

Nobody has to fill in every bubble tonight. You should leave with three things:

  1. What's actually on your ballot
  2. Where to research what's left
  3. The day you'll turn it in

House rules

No one tells anyone
how to vote.

  • Disagree kindly. We're here to understand, not to win.
  • “I don't know” is a great answer. Post it on the Ghost Wall.
  • Your picks are yours. Share them only if you want to.
  • Show your source. “I read it on…” beats “I heard…”

Tonight

The night's
itinerary

KickoffYou're watching it
Round 1Pick a station · 20 min
Round 2Pick another
Round 3Last call for souls
RegroupGhost Wall, your plan, raffle
Costume voteRanked choice! Then hang out

What's on your ballot

It's long. Flip every card over.

Same for everyone on Oʻahu

  • Governor & Lt. Governor
  • OHA Trustees · every seat is a statewide vote
  • 2 State Constitutional Amendments
  • 20 Honolulu Charter Questions

Depends on your address

  • U.S. House · CD1 or CD2
  • State Senate · if your district is up
  • State House · if your race is contested
  • City Council · only Districts 4 & 6

The people part

Who's haunting the ballot

4-year term

Governor & Lt. Gov

Run state government: agencies, the budget, emergencies. Elected as a pair.

2-year term

U.S. Representative

Votes on federal laws in D.C. CD1 is urban Honolulu. CD2 is the rest of Oʻahu and the neighbor islands.

Statewide vote

OHA Trustees

Set policy and budget for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Every voter votes in every OHA race.

4-year term

State Senator

Writes state laws on housing, schools and taxes. Confirms judges.

2-year term

State Representative

Writes state laws for a smaller district than a senator.

4-year term

City Council

Honolulu's laws and budget: zoning, roads, parks, property tax rates.

State Constitutional Amendments · same statewide

Two Yes/No questions*

Question 1

More time to confirm judges

Gives the State Senate 60 days instead of 30 to approve or reject a judge appointed between April 1 and Dec 31.

Question 2

RISE infrastructure bonds

Lets counties borrow for sewer, water and drainage in designated districts, repaid by future property-tax growth there. Not counted against county debt limits.

⚠ On these two, leaving it blank counts the same as a NO.

* One-line summaries can be a little biased. Always review the exact ballot wording.

Honolulu Charter Questions · same for all of Oʻahu

20 questions, 5 piles*

People & culture

  1. 2New Charter preamble
  2. 3Office of ʻŌiwi Resources
  3. 4LGBTQIA+ Commission
  4. 16Green card holders on boards

City Machine

Elections & rights

  1. 5Ranked-choice voting
  2. 6HPD & immigration
  3. 20Ban after impeachment

The Rulebook

Housing

  1. 7Housing as city policy
  2. 8Affordable Housing Fund
  3. 9Property hearings
  4. 1010-year housing plan

House & Land

Food, land & funds

  1. 1Food Security Fund
  2. 11Grants to nonprofits
  3. 12Outside funding
  4. 13Historic preservation
  5. 14Land upkeep cap

House & Land

How the city runs

  1. 15Office of Data & Innovation
  2. 17Quorum rules
  3. 18HR First Deputy
  4. 19Charter Commission support

City Machine

* One-line summaries can be a little biased. Always review the exact ballot wording.

Heard “ranked choice”?

You're not ranking
anyone this year.

Charter Question 5 asks if Honolulu should switch to ranking up to five candidates for Mayor, Council and Prosecutor. It would start in 2032 at the earliest, and only if the Legislature approves.

Try it tonight

The 8:00 costume vote is ranked choice. Rank your top 3 on a post-it and watch the count.

The 10-minute séance

How to research one item

  1. Read the exact ballot wordingNot the headline. The words you'll actually vote on.
  2. Read one neutral explainerOffice of Elections, the Charter booklet or HPR.
  3. Hear both sidesOne supporter and one opponent. Why does each care?
  4. Ask what changesIf Yes wins, what's different? If No wins? Decide, or add it to your list.

The stations · go wherever you're curious

Research

Candidate Hall

Governor, U.S. House, OHA and your district races.

Soul: name your State House district and one thing each candidate in a race said.

Discussion

The Rulebook

State amendments 1–2 and charter questions 5, 6, 20.

Soul: explain one question to someone in a single sentence.

Research + talk

House & Land

Charter questions 1 and 7–14: housing, food, land funds.

Soul: find one dollar or % figure in a question.

Speed round

City Machine

Charter questions 2–4 and 15–19. Mostly quick ones.

Soul: sort all 8 into “housekeeping” or “big change.”

Self-serve

Lost Souls Desk

Registered? Ballot arrived? Where's the drop box?

Soul: write your return plan on your worksheet.

👻 Ghost Wall

Stuck? Write the question on a post-it and stick it on the whiteboard. Bonus soul: answer someone else's, with a source.

The game

Collect souls

  1. Pick any stationThree 20-minute rounds. No forced rotation.
  2. Do its taskIt's on the sign and on your phone.
  3. Check the boxOn the passport strip of your worksheet.
  4. 1 soul = 1 raffle ticketTear off your strip at 7:45. Prize drawn at the regroup.

No task asks how you're voting. Your worksheet stays with you.

Scan to play

Don't let your ballot become a ghost

Key dates

Ballots arrivedMissing yours? Call Honolulu Elections: 808-768-9234.
Voter service centers openHonolulu Hale & Kapolei Hale. Same-day registration and in-person voting.
Mailing it? Send by nowAfter this, use a drop box or a voter service center.
Ballot must ARRIVEPostmarks don't count. Drop boxes close at 7:00 pm.

✍ Sign the return envelope. Unsigned ballots don't count.

Track your ballot
Scan to play

Ballots & Boos · the game

Collect
souls

Round 120:00
Candidate Hall The Rulebook House & Land City Machine Lost Souls Desk 👻 Ghost Wall
  • 👻 Read the Ghost Wall together
  • 🗣 Say one thing still on your list, and the day you'll turn your ballot in
  • 🎟 Tear off your soul strip for the raffle