//Run for office · Hawaii

How to run for local office in Hawaii

Hawaii votes entirely by mail, only in even years, and the only local offices are county: mayor, council and prosecuting attorney, filed with your county clerk by the first Tuesday in June.

Facts checked against official sources · September 9, 2026

Hawaii has voted by mail in every election since 2020. County elections divisions mail a ballot packet to every active registered voter about 18 days before election day, voters return it by mail or to a drop box, and it must be received by 7 pm on election day; there is no postmark grace period. Voter service centers open for the last 10 business days for in-person voting and same-day registration. Hawaii also has no odd-year elections: every county race shares the ballot with the August primary and November general of even years, so 2027 is a planning year and 2028 is the next cycle.

Local government in Hawaii is county government. There are no cities, no elected school boards and no special districts to run for; the offices are county council, mayor and (in some counties) prosecuting attorney, all nonpartisan. You apply for a nomination paper from your county elections division, collect 15 signatures, pay $250 for council or $500 for mayor (discounted to $25 or $50 if you accept voluntary spending limits), and file by 4:30 pm on the deadline, which was June 2 in 2026. Campaign finance for every county candidate is filed with the state Campaign Spending Commission, where the limit is $2,000 per donor per election period for a two-year seat and $4,000 for a four-year seat.

Election authority: Hawaii Office of Elections
Voter file: Available for political and election purposes
Campaign finance: Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission
How voters vote: Every registered voter is mailed a ballot
Registration deadline: Paper registration applications must reach the county elections division 10 days before the election (July 29, 2026 for the primary; October 26, 2026 for the general). Online registration is open at any time, and voters may register and vote in person at a voter service center through 7 pm on election day.
Local offices: All county offices and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs are nonpartisan; every candidate for mayor, council or prosecuting attorney runs as a nonpartisan and no party label appears. Federal and state legislative offices are partisan.

Who runs elections in Hawaii

Hawaii Office of Elections The Office of Elections, headed by the Chief Election Officer, prints and counts ballots statewide, publishes the Candidate's Manual and the online Candidate System for nomination papers, issues and accepts nomination papers for federal and state offices, maintains the statewide voter registration system, and posts county-level voting reports. County candidates deal mainly with their county elections division, which issues and files county nomination papers on the same calendar.

The four county clerks, through their elections divisions (County of Hawaii in Hilo and Kona, Maui, Kauai, and the City and County of Honolulu), handle voter registration, mail and receive ballots, issue replacement ballots, run the voter service centers and places of deposit, and issue and file nomination papers for county offices. The neighbor-island counties also accept federal and state nomination papers on the Office of Elections' behalf; Honolulu accepts only city contests.

Getting the Hawaii voter file

The voter file is the list of every registered voter, with the fields a campaign needs to target: address, party where the state records it, and vote history. In Hawaii it comes from Hawaii Office of Elections (statewide voter registration system) and the county clerks (county register).

Access: Available for political and election purposes
Cost: Confirm with Hawaii Office of Elections (statewide voter registration system) and the county clerks (county register)
Format: Confirm with Hawaii Office of Elections (statewide voter registration system) and the county clerks (county register)
Vote history: Not confirmed
Phone numbers: Not included
Updated: Confirm with Hawaii Office of Elections (statewide voter registration system) and the county clerks (county register)

Who can get it: Anyone may get a voter's full name, district/precinct designation and voter status, which are public for any purpose (HAR 3-177-160(b)). Address and mailing address and the rest of the record are released only for an election or government purpose on a sworn request form prescribed by the Chief Election Officer, and supporting or opposing a candidate is an election purpose (HAR 3-177-160(c), (e) and (g)).

Permitted use: Election or government purposes only (HRS 11-97 as implemented by HAR 3-177-160): supporting or opposing candidates or ballot measures, voter registration and turnout work, and government functions. No commercial use of any kind, no resale, and the request is signed under oath; service bureaus may charge for processing a verified election-purpose request.

County option: Yes. Each county clerk keeps the general county register and can release a county list under the same rule; for a council district race the county elections division is the natural source, and the Office of Elections can supply a statewide extract. Ask both what fields, format and price they offer, since neither publishes a fee schedule.

Never released to campaigns: Social Security number, driver license and state ID numbers, email address, telephone number and date of birth (HAR 3-177-160(c)).
Hawaii does not register voters by party, so there is no party field to target on; the primary is open and county contests are nonpartisan.
Confirm with the Office of Elections whether vote history is included in an election-purpose extract; the rule lists 'voter status' as public but does not define it as ballot history.

Whatever file you get, Culper imports it as a CSV and maps the columns for you. See how to read a voter file for what the fields mean.

Filing to run for local office in Hawaii

County offices are nonpartisan special contests. You submit an Application for a Nomination Paper to your county elections division (or generate one online through the Candidate System), collect the required signatures from registered voters, and file the completed paper with the filing fee and a notarized oath at the county elections division by 4:30 pm on the deadline. In 2026 the window ran from February 2 to June 2; the 2028 dates will follow the same pattern (first working day of February to the first Tuesday of June) and are published in the 2028 Candidate's Manual. Depending on the county charter, a candidate who wins a majority at the August primary is elected outright.

File with: Your county elections division: County of Hawaii (Hilo or Kona), County of Maui (Wailuku), County of Kauai (Lihue), or the City and County of Honolulu Elections Division at Honolulu Hale, by appointment. Nomination papers for county offices are available only from the county, not the Office of Elections.
Filing fee: $250 for county council in all four counties and $500 for mayor of Maui or Kauai (2026 Candidate's Manual; Honolulu Elections Division). The fee drops to $25 for council or $50 for mayor if you file the Campaign Spending Commission affidavit voluntarily agreeing to expenditure limits; candidates who later exceed the limit owe the balance. Indigent candidates may have the fee waived by affidavit. Pay by cash, cashier's check, certified check or money order; no personal checks.
Petition: 15 signatures of registered voters of the council district (Hawaii County and Honolulu, which elect by district) or 15 registered voters of the county (Maui and Kauai council and mayor). Collect extras; a voter may sign for only one candidate per office, and the county verifies each signature.
Partisan?: All county offices and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs are nonpartisan; every candidate for mayor, council or prosecuting attorney runs as a nonpartisan and no party label appears. Federal and state legislative offices are partisan.

Filing window: Nomination papers are issued starting the first working day of February and must be filed by 4:30 pm on the candidate filing deadline in early June of the even-numbered election year; in 2026 the dates were February 2 and June 2, 2026 (2026 Candidate's Manual). The 2028 cycle should open Tuesday, February 1, 2028 and close in the first week of June 2028; confirm the exact deadline in the 2028 manual when the Office of Elections posts it.

Key Hawaii dates
What	When	Note
Nomination papers available, 2028 county offices	Varies	First working day of February in the election year; February 2 in 2026. Expected February 1, 2028. Confirm in the 2028 Candidate's Manual.
Candidate filing deadline, 2028 county offices (4:30 pm)	Varies	June 2, 2026 in the last cycle; the 2028 deadline is expected in the first week of June 2028 and will be set in the 2028 Candidate's Manual.
Primary election, 2028	Varies	Second Saturday in August: August 8, 2026 in the last cycle, so August 12, 2028. Ballots must be received by 7 pm.
General election, 2028	November 7, 2028	Hawaii holds combined federal, state and county elections only in even-numbered years (Honolulu Elections Division). No regular county election in 2027.
Paper voter registration deadline (10 days before) and ballot mailing (about 18 days before)	Varies	2026 general: paper registrations due October 26, ballots in mailboxes by October 16, voter service centers October 20 to November 3. Online registration is open any time; same-day registration at voter service centers.

A state or county elected official whose term does not end in the election year must resign before filing for another state or county office (resign-to-run, 2026 Candidate's Manual).
Honolulu accepts applications by appointment only at Honolulu Hale, Room 100, Monday through Friday 7:45 am to 4:30 pm.

Campaign finance rules in Hawaii

State-level campaign finance in Hawaii is overseen by Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission.

Where local candidates file: All state and county candidates register and file with the Campaign Spending Commission, a state agency; there is no county-level campaign finance filing in Hawaii. You become a candidate under the campaign spending law when you file nomination papers or when you receive contributions or make expenditures of more than $100, and your candidate committee's Organizational Report is due within 10 days of whichever comes first (HRS 11-321). Reports are filed through the Commission's online filing system after you submit its electronic filing form; the Commission's site has a First Time Users page and dashboards showing every candidate's filings.

Contribution limits: HRS 11-357 caps what one person may give during an election period: $2,000 to a candidate for a two-year office, $4,000 for a four-year non-statewide office, and $6,000 for a four-year statewide office. The election period runs from the day after the last general election for that office through the day of the next, so the limit is for the whole cycle, not per primary and general. County terms differ: Honolulu council seats are four years ($4,000); Hawaii County, Maui and Kauai council seats are two years ($2,000); Maui and Kauai mayors are four years ($4,000). Candidates who sign the affidavit accepting voluntary expenditure limits get the discounted filing fee and may qualify for partial public funding.

Reporting: For a candidate on the ballot (HRS 11-334): preliminary reports February 28 and April 30 of the election year, 30 and 10 calendar days before the primary, October 1, and 10 days before the general; a final primary report 20 days after the primary; a final election period report 30 days after the general; and a supplemental report each February 1 in off years. Late contributions over $500 received in the last two weeks before an election are reported within days (Commission notices set the exact date each cycle).

The Commission's reprint of HRS chapter 11 part XIII (July 2026) is the authoritative text for limits, reports and public funding.

Limits and thresholds change. Treat the figures here as a starting point and confirm the current schedule with Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission before you accept a check. Our campaign finance basics guide covers the bookkeeping every local candidate needs on day one.

How voting works in Hawaii

Every registered voter is mailed a ballot. Every active registered voter is mailed a ballot packet; traditional election-day polling places no longer exist. Voters return the ballot by mail or at a county drop box (place of deposit), and it must be received by the county elections division by 7 pm on election day. Voter service centers open for the 10 business days before and on election day for accessible in-person voting, replacement ballots and same-day registration.

Early voting: Voter service centers operate for 10 business days before election day (October 20 to November 3, 2026 for the general; July 27 to August 8 for the primary), excluding Sundays. Drop boxes are open from the time ballots are mailed; Honolulu runs 16.
Mail ballots: Voters receive their ballots about 18 days before election day (by July 21, 2026 for the August 8 primary; by October 16, 2026 for the November 3 general). BallotTrax sends text, email or phone updates when the ballot is mailed, received and accepted. Ballots must be received, not postmarked, by 7 pm on election day; a request to send the ballot to an alternate address is due about a week before.
Registration deadline: Paper registration applications must reach the county elections division 10 days before the election (July 29, 2026 for the primary; October 26, 2026 for the general). Online registration is open at any time, and voters may register and vote in person at a voter service center through 7 pm on election day.
Same-day registration: Yes

Knowing who has already voted: Publicly, the Office of Elections posts a county-level Voting Report for each election with mail ballots sent, mail ballots voted and invalid, voter service center votes, and totals by county; it is an aggregate table, not a voter list, and it is updated during and after the voting period. For voter-level ballot-return data, the source is your county elections division, which records each returned envelope as it is received and accepted; under HAR 3-177-160 that record is releasable for an election purpose on a sworn request, but no county publishes a returned-ballot file or a price, so ask your county clerk's elections division early whether it will provide a returned-ballot list during the 18-day window and how often. Individual voters can check their own ballot in BallotTrax.

In a vote-by-mail state the campaign is won during the return window, not on election day. Read ballot chase in vote-by-mail states for how to work the returned-ballot list every day.

Local government in Hawaii: what you can run for

Hawaii has four counties and no other general-purpose local governments: the County of Hawaii, the County of Maui (which includes Molokai and Lanai), the County of Kauai, and the City and County of Honolulu (Oahu). Kalawao is administered by the state Department of Health. Each county has an elected mayor and council under its own charter; Honolulu and Hawaii County elect council members by district, Kauai elects seven at large, and Maui elects nine by residency area countywide. There are no municipalities below the county, no independent school districts (public schools are a single state system and the Board of Education is not on the ballot), and no elected special districts. The statewide Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees are also nonpartisan.

County council member
Mayor
Prosecuting attorney (Honolulu, Hawaii County, Kauai)
Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee (statewide, nonpartisan)

When local elections happen: Even-numbered years only, on the same ballot as state and federal races: the primary on the second Saturday in August (August 8, 2026; August 12, 2028) and the general on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November (November 3, 2026; November 7, 2028). Council terms are two years in Hawaii, Maui and Kauai counties and four years in Honolulu; mayors serve four years. Special elections fill county vacancies. No regular local election is held in 2027.

Under most county charters a council or mayoral candidate who wins a majority at the August primary is deemed elected and does not appear in November; Kauai's at-large council instead advances the top 14 to the general.

Running your Hawaii campaign on Culper

Culper does not license voter data in Hawaii today. You upload the Hawaii voter file described above as a CSV, and every feature runs on it: search and lists, plain-English queries, texting and email, block walking, and volunteer coordination. Online donation processing is in development; ask about timing on the onboarding call. Your file stays in your campaign's workspace and is never shared with another campaign.

Set up your Hawaii campaign in an afternoon

Upload the voter file, ask for your first list in plain English, and hand your volunteers the walking app. Signup is open to candidates in every state. Pricing is set after a short call so it matches the size of the race.

Get started Book a demo

Hawaii questions we get asked

What local offices can I run for in Hawaii and when is the next election?

Only county offices: council member, mayor, and in Honolulu, Hawaii County and Kauai the prosecuting attorney. Hawaii has no cities, elected school boards or special districts. All county races are nonpartisan and appear only in even years, so the next cycle is the August 12, 2028 primary and November 7, 2028 general; nothing regular is on the ballot in 2027. In 2026 the council seats up were Hawaii County districts 1-9, all nine Maui seats, all seven Kauai seats and Honolulu districts II, IV, VI and VIII, plus the Maui and Kauai mayors.

How do I file to run for county council in Hawaii?

Submit an Application for a Nomination Paper to your county elections division (Hilo or Kona, Wailuku, Lihue, or Honolulu Hale by appointment), collect 15 signatures from registered voters of your council district or county, and file the completed nomination paper with a notarized oath and the fee by 4:30 pm on the filing deadline. Nomination papers open the first working day of February and closed June 2 in 2026. The fee is $250 for council or $500 for mayor, reduced to $25 or $50 if you file the Campaign Spending Commission affidavit accepting voluntary spending limits. Personal checks are not accepted.

How do I get the Hawaii voter list, and does it include party?

Request it from the Office of Elections or your county clerk's elections division on the sworn election-purpose form prescribed by the Chief Election Officer. Name, district/precinct and voter status are public for any purpose; residence and mailing address are released for an election purpose such as supporting a candidate; Social Security, license and ID numbers, email, phone and date of birth are never released (HAR 3-177-160). Hawaii does not register voters by party, so there is no party field. Neither office publishes a price or file layout, so ask when you apply.

How can I tell who has already returned a ballot in a Hawaii election?

The Office of Elections' Voting Report shows, by county, how many mail ballots were sent, returned and accepted and how many people voted at voter service centers, but it is an aggregate. Voter-level returned-ballot data lives with your county elections division, which records each envelope as it is received; ask the division whether it will release a returned-ballot list for an election purpose during the roughly 18-day voting window and how often it can refresh it. Hawaii ballots must be received by 7 pm on election day, so the last useful day for chase mail is several days earlier.

What are the contribution limits for a Hawaii county candidate?

$2,000 per person for a two-year office and $4,000 per person for a four-year non-statewide office, aggregated over the whole election period from the day after the last general election through the next (HRS 11-357). That means $2,000 for Hawaii County, Maui and Kauai council seats and $4,000 for Honolulu council and for the Maui and Kauai mayors. The cap is not doubled for the primary and general. Report to the Campaign Spending Commission, not the county.

When are Hawaii ballots mailed and when must they be back?

County elections divisions mail ballot packets so voters have them about 18 days before election day: by July 21, 2026 for the August 8 primary and by October 16, 2026 for the November 3 general. The ballot must be received by the county by 7 pm on election day; a postmark does not count. Voter service centers open 10 business days before election day for in-person voting and same-day registration, and paper registrations are due 10 days before. Plan Hawaii mail to land the week the packets arrive and finish chase contact by the Friday before election day.

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Sources

Facts on this page were checked against the official sources below on September 9, 2026. Rules change between cycles; when a number here and the agency disagree, the agency is right.