Bill Text: HI HB1911 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Voting; Elections by Mail
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-20 - (H) Referred to JUD, FIN, referral sheet 1 [HB1911 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2010-HB1911-Introduced.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
1911 |
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TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to elections by mail.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. In 2004, Hawaii had the lowest voter turnout rate for general elections in the nation, and its turnout rate remains in the bottom half of national voter turnout rates. In contrast, Oregon has one of the ten highest voter turnout rates in the nation, with over fifty per cent of eligible voters voting in the 2006 general election. Oregon's vote-by-mail system, approved by almost seventy per cent of Oregonians in a 1998 initiative, is credited with improving voter participation in Oregon. Oregon's vote-by-mail system is used for all elections and is popular with voters because it empowers the voter and eliminates many of the problems and costs of other voting systems. Ballots are mailed to voters, and the voter is required to return the ballot by mail or by dropping it off at designated sites within a two-week period.
Although Oregon was the only state to use a vote-by-mail system for all elections, all states now allow some version of mail-in voting. At least twenty-eight states, including Oregon, allow no-excuse absentee voting. The legislature finds that a vote-by-mail system has a number of advantages over traditional polling.
The purpose of this Act is to require the office of elections to develop and implement a vote-by-mail pilot program similar to Oregon's vote-by-mail system. The pilot program shall be implemented for elections in 2010 in three representative districts meeting particular criteria.
SECTION 2. (a) The office of elections shall develop and implement a vote-by-mail pilot program to replace traditional polling places in certain representative districts for elections in 2010. The vote-by-mail pilot program shall include a requirement that vote-by-mail ballots be received by the close of the polls on election day to ensure that they are counted. The vote-by-mail pilot program shall also include provision of voter education materials relating to the pilot program for eligible voters who reside in pilot program districts.
(b) The office of elections shall implement the pilot program in three state representative districts selected by the office of elections according to the following criteria:
(1) One representative district shall be the district that the office of elections determines to be a rural district with the combination of lowest absentee turnout rate and lowest voter turnout rate out of all state rural districts for the two most recent general elections; provided that if more than one representative district qualifies under this paragraph, the office of elections may select the representative district it deems to be the most suitable for the purposes of this Act. In determining whether a representative district is a rural district, the office of elections shall select a representative district with more than half of its land classified as rural land by the state land use commission under section 205-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes;
(2) One representative district shall be the district that the office of elections determines to be an urban district with the combination of lowest absentee turnout rate and lowest voter turnout rate out of all state urban districts for the two most recent general elections; provided that if more than one representative district qualifies under this paragraph, the office of elections may select the representative district it deems to be the most suitable for the purposes of this Act. In determining whether a representative district is an urban district, the office of elections shall select a representative district with more than half of its land classified as urban land by the state land use commission under section 205-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes;
(3) One representative district shall be that district that the office of elections determines to have a voter turnout rate closest to that of the overall state voter turnout rate during the two most recent general elections; provided that if more than one representative district qualifies under this paragraph, the office of elections may select the representative district it deems to be the most suitable for the purposes of this Act; and
(4) If the same district meets the criteria set forth in paragraph (3) and either paragraph (1) or (2), the office of elections shall select the next best qualifying district from a different county to participate in the pilot program to fulfill the criteria set forth in paragraph (3).
(c) Upon the selection of the representative districts to participate in the pilot program, but not later than July 1, 2010, the office of elections shall submit a preliminary report to the legislature that includes:
(1) Identification of the three representative districts selected by the office of elections to participate in the pilot program, including a description of the method used to select the districts;
(2) The current status of implementation of the pilot program; and
(3) A brief description of operational problems or legal impediments that have affected or are anticipated to affect implementation of the pilot program.
(d) Upon the conclusion of the 2010 general election, but not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular legislative session of 2011, the office of elections shall submit a report to the legislature that includes:
(1) Voter demographics, turnout, and other statistical information, as deemed necessary by the chief election officer, to accurately assess the efficacy of the pilot program for each selected representative district;
(2) Efforts made by the office of elections to advertise, educate, and promote the pilot program to enhance the pilot program's chance of success and the cost of those efforts;
(3) Whether the pilot program had any effect on increasing or decreasing voter turnout and absentee turnout and, if so, by how much;
(4) Any operational problems or legal impediments that arose and affected the implementation or operation of the pilot program;
(5) The actual cost of implementing the pilot program, including postage costs;
(6) A recommendation as to whether the pilot program should be made permanent on a limited or statewide basis and, if recommended to be made permanent, a recommendation on what statutory revisions need to be made to fully effectuate the mail-in voting program; and
(7) An estimate on the cost, including postage costs, to continue the pilot program permanently on a limited or statewide basis.
The office of elections shall use available federal funds to develop and implement the vote-by-mail pilot program.
SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2010, and shall be repealed on December 31, 2011.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
Voting; Elections by Mail
Description:
Requires the office of elections to establish a vote-by-mail pilot program for the 2010 elections in three representative districts based upon certain criteria.
The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
