Plenty of candidates have no opposition in Hawaii’s Aug. 10 primary, but they still owe their constituents an explanation of why they’re running and what they see as the key issues.

That’s why Civil Beat is hitting the “send” button Monday morning on emails to the 279 people running for every office in Hawaii this year, inviting them to complete our question-and-answer surveys.

It’s a chance for seasoned incumbents and political newcomers alike to say in their own words why they deserve your vote. Sort of like free advertising, except we get to choose the questions.

And when it comes to the 152 candidates for 64 seats in the Legislature, a lot of those questions are about the proposed reforms in state government that never seem to get approved.

After all, the Legislature’s continued unwillingness to level the playing field when it comes to well-heeled incumbents outspending challengers could certainly be one of the reasons that we have a lot fewer candidates on the ballot this year.

Incumbents will be asked what they’ve already done to help reform state government; challengers will be asked what they are going to do.

The best strategy for even candidates who are unopposed in the primary is to respond to the surveys as soon as possible.

Legislative incumbents, by the way, are notorious for being the most likely to ignore our surveys. During the last election cycle, we named names of the survey scofflaws, and we’ll definitely be doing that again this year.

If they care about voter perceptions, candidates definitely don’t want to be on that no-show list.

And the sooner they return the surveys, the sooner we can publish them. Then they become internet-searchable as voters start to key in on the races — and they traditionally hit on our Q&As by the thousands once they start receiving their mail ballots a little more than two weeks before election day.

We try to publish the responses as soon after receiving them as we can, and we’ll generally be rolling out at least five per day. When possible, we’ll publish candidates for the same office simultaneously, and every survey will include links to opponents’ surveys if we have them.

After the primary, we’ll begin republishing the Q&As of all the candidates who are advancing to the Nov. 5 general election. So the best strategy for even candidates who are unopposed in the primary is to respond to the surveys as soon as possible.

Post-primary responses will still be published, but that’s the equivalent of showing up late for a candidates forum and keeping the voters waiting.

If you have questions, or if you’re a candidate who hasn’t received a questionnaire from us in the next few days, email candidate@civilbeat.org.