Kuleana ʻŌiwi - Hawaiʻi and the Ballot Box Kamahaʻo Halemanu, Hano Mar & Kahiau Halemanu

This non-partisan, interactive ArcGIS StoryMap was designed to foster civic engagement within Hawaiʻi during its 2026 election year by connecting Hawaiʻi’s Kingdom-era political history with modern-day voter participation.

By providing users with historical timelines, interactive district maps, and direct portals to official state election resources, this project equips our community with the tools they need to exercise their collective responsibility. Framed through the cultural lens of kuleana (responsibility), the project is intended to inform, educate, and expand community awareness of voting and its importance, both past and present.

Story Map features:

A timeline documenting key political developments in the Hawaiian Kingdom

Interactive ArcGIS maps displaying Hawaiʻi’s Senate, Representative, and County district boundaries

Resources and direct portals to verify your voter registration and prepare for upcoming elections

Understanding our history informs how we exercise our collective responsibility today.

How you can register to vote and use your voice in Hawaiʻi’s elections.

The process of creating this StoryMap has already fostered deep community engagement. Throughout the development phase, researching our Kingdom-era political history and mapping current district boundaries required reaching out to mentors and peers to ensure the information was accurate and culturally resonant. Now that the project is live, its immediate impact is serving as a digital gathering space. Native Advocates, youth, and community members finally have a centralized, non-partisan resource that reflects their heritage, which they can now confidently share with their families and friends to encourage voter registration ahead of the upcoming elections.

Follow @kuleanaoiwi_hawaii on Instagram to see upcoming campaign features with the ArcGIS story map & weekly posts about Hawaiʻi, voting, and history.