Aloha Reader,

Three weeks from today is Election Day, and this week brings four ways for you to help: a rally Saturday, our last postcard party of the season, a say on police cameras in our county, and your own ballot arriving in the mail.

Will the election be too big to rig? We know Trump will try any chance he has. He's spent years sowing doubt about election integrity. It's been his number one topic since he's been back in the White House. He's actually attacked election integrity more than 70% of the days he's been in office. Our best defense against his attacks is to have a victory so broad and so great that it can't be disputed.

Fortunately, this year voters and election observers nationwide are ready for the shenanigans as never before.

And we are getting out the vote. When we started our six-state strategy, winning control of both houses of Congress looked like a very long shot. It now looks a lot closer. Sunday's Indivisible Hawaiʻi Statewide Network (IHSN) newsletter explored Iowa, where three of four US House seats could flip, in addition to Josh Turek's Senate race. Again, our goal is a turnout too big to rig, everywhere.

In this issue

• No Dictators: Hands Off My Vote
• Act 11 moves to the federal courtroom. We're watching.
• Police Commission Friday: keep the surveillance state out of the county budget
• Postcarding grand finale at Gypsea Gelato Thursday
• Post-Ironman cleanup
• Ballots arriving: vote early

No Dictators: Hands Off My Vote

Saturday is the big day, nationally, statewide, and here on Hawaiʻi Island, as people everywhere rally to urge everyone to vote early. There are five rallies on our island— in Kona, Waikoloa, Waimea, Hilo, and Naʻalehu. At past No Dictators events, some of our most energetic members made the circuit and drove around the island to join several protests.

Our Kona rally doubles as a food drive for Aloha Latinos, a local migrant community group, so bring canned goods, shelf-stable staples, or diapers to donate. Cash donations are gladly accepted too.

If you can help us set up and work the rally, reply to this email with the best way to reach you.

WHEN: Saturday, October 17, 2026, 4:00-5:00 pm

WHERE: Our usual spot on Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway, south of Henry Street, mauka of the Mormon Temple

TAKE ACTION: Sign up and invite your friends.

Act 11 moves to the federal courtroom. We're watching.

Act 11 is the new state law, signed in May, that bars corporations from spending money to influence Hawaiʻi elections. It is our state's challenge to Citizens United, and two groups have sued in federal court to stop it. Today a few of us from Kona Indivisible (KIND) leadership are inside the federal courtroom in Honolulu to observe the first hearing in those lawsuits.

This is the next phase in our fight to get dark money out of our elections. We fought hard to pass this law, and now we're keeping watch so its opponents don't undo it. Follow the cases on our Act 11 lawsuit tracker, and look for an update in the next IHSN newsletter.

Police Commission Friday: keep the surveillance state out of the county budget

The Hawaiʻi County Police Commission meets Friday, October 16, and the budget is on the agenda. According to West Hawaii Today, the state Department of Law Enforcement plans to install 75 automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras on Hawaiʻi Island, part of about 400 statewide. These cameras record every passing plate. Flock, the best-known maker, has drawn criticism for how it stores and shares that data.

Police Chief Reed Mahuna told the paper that the Hawaiʻi Police Department hasn't deployed the cameras, and he promised community meetings before any rollout. Let's use the budget discussion to give public input now. Before any cameras go up, we want strict data protection rules. You can read our testimony here.

For background, the American Civil Liberties Union’s Get the Flock Out toolkit includes model bills and a sample email you can adapt.

TAKE ACTION: Email your own testimony to Police.Commission@hawaiipolice.gov by noon on Wednesday, October 14.

To give remote testimony live, register and join the Zoom per the instructions in the agenda.

Postcarding grand finale at Gypsea Gelato Thursday

Early voting has started in many states, and Thursday is our last postcard party for this election cycle. Let's make it count. Join us for the final push.

WHEN: Thursday, October 15, 2026, 1:30-3:00 pm

WHERE: Gypsea Gelato, 79-7491 Hawaiʻi Belt Rd, Kealakekua, HI 96750

TAKE ACTION: Register here​

Although the window for doing postcards is closing, you can still join phone and/or text banks for key candidates on our events page.

Post-Ironman cleanup

The Ironman World Championship had great finishes in both races on Saturday. Sunday's cleanup turned into a chance for Kona Indivisible members to bump into each other while doing community service. Mahalo to Ellen, Craig, and family.

Ballots arriving: vote early

Look for your ballot in the mail around Friday, October 16. Vote early and tell your friends. Mail it back by Tuesday, October 27, or use a drop box or voter service center by 7:00 pm on Election Day, Tuesday, November 3. Find details on the county elections page.

Mahalo for all you do.
We’ll be in touch at the end of the week with details for the October 17 rally.

Warmest Aloha
Sam & the KIND Leadership Team

Want to support our work? Donate here​ ​​​​ P.S. You may also receive the Sunday newsletter from the Indivisible Hawai'i Statewide Network, which includes both national and state news. Our newsletter emphasizes county and local events and actions specific to the Kona Coast of the Big Island.

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