Voting in Hawaii's Democratic Presidential Caucus Somewhat Chaotic

Caucus voting took place in Hawaii on Tuesday. As a first time voter, I did not know what to expect. I registered online and headed down to Haleiwa Elementary School in Haleiwa town to place my vote. It became quite clear that Barrack Obama was born and raised on Oahu as the scene was over run with Obama supporters, with no shortage of signs and posters.

Signs adorned the fences around the school with catchy wording such as "Obama Ohana." The meaning of Ohana in Hawaiian is family. This small, tight-knit community is most certainly a family, and it is evident that Obama is one of its favorite sons. You could even find an area on the lawn for Obama supporters complete with bottled water, Vitamin water and cookies and other snacks. Clinton supporters seemed to be few and far between.

After filling out voter registration forms and party registration forms, you were them directed to a designated table in the cafeteria. This voting location covered all cities across the North Shore of Oahu. It quickly became crowded as all tables filled with eager voters. Many ended up having to stand on the side of the cafeteria or outside on the sidewalk. There was also a lot of confusion as to where the bathrooms were located. Many meandered outside looking for the bathrooms when they were actually located inside and behind the stage in the cafeteria. I was unfortunately one of the lost, wandering individuals.

Actual voting started at 7 p.m. The scene reminded me of my college days, standing in crowded bars trying to get to the bartender; in this case it was trying to get to the ballot holder. I did not quite understand why they simply did not hand out the ballots. The announcer had each precinct monitor hold up their hand; this was the person you needed to see for your ballot. If you lived in the city of Waialua on the North Shore you headed over to table three to see that monitor, and if you lived in the city of Haleiwa you headed over to table four to see that monitor, and so on and so forth.

I did my best to try to push through the crowd while other overzealous voters pushed along side of me. It was very disorganized as there was a lot of confusion as to how the actual voting was to take place. After some observing, I figured out that you needed to sign the sign-in sheet, and then you were handed a ballot to check off for your vote. The ballot was then handed to another person at the table with an envelope.

The frenzied scene finally culminated with monitors having to stand on the tables to instruct people with directions. There was some relief however as the crowd thinned out. North Shore State Representative Michael Magoay was on the scene lending support to his party and shaking hands with voters.

Neither Clinton nor Obama are on Oahu. Clinton's daughter Chelsea arrived a few days ago to drum up support while Obama was unfortunately snowed in. Obama's sister who still lives on Oahu has been campaigning for her brother here. One can only imagine the excitement that the state would feel if Obama is indeed elected our president.