Bill Text: HI HB511 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Voter Registration; Election-Day Registration
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 19-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-12-18 - Carried over to 2014 Regular Session. [HB511 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2014-HB511-Introduced.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
511 |
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TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to voting.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The State of Hawaii has one of the lowest voter turnout rates in the nation and has relatively low voter registration rates as well. Of the approximately 1,000,000 residents of Hawaii of voting age, 706,000 residents were registered to vote in the 2012 general election. Of these 706,000 registered voters, 437,000 ballots were cast in the 2012 general election.
According to a study by Craig Leonard Brians of Virginia Tech and Bernard Grofman of the University of California, Irvine, overall turnout increases from fifty-three per cent to fifty-five per cent when the register's closing date changes from thirty to fifteen days before the election, respectively. The overall turnout further increases to fifty-nine per cent when election-day registration is implemented. Furthermore, voter turnout increases in all socioeconomic spectra. States that have implemented same-day registration policies had an average of seven per cent higher voter turnout than states without same-day registration.
Minnesota has seen higher rates of voter turnout since implementing the same-day registration law in 1974. According to the Minnesota Secretary of State, approximately 500,000 Minnesotans use same-day registration in a typical presidential election year.
In light of national attention for having the lowest voter turnout nationwide, Hawaii has already begun to introduce initiatives in order to increase voter turnout. Act 225, Session Laws of Hawaii 2012, will allow residents to register to vote online starting in 2016. The aim of this bill is to work in tandem with the electronic voter registration system while allowing residents to register to vote on election day.
Representative democratic societies require civic participation and easy access to the right to vote in order to bring proper representation of the public into the political arena. The purpose of this Act is to increase civic participation, streamline the voting process, remove temporal barriers to voter registration, and improve ballot operations by:
(1) Allowing eligible individuals to register to vote on election day;
(2) Extending the voting register to election day; and
(3) Requiring each precinct to have enough ballots for at least one-third of its eligible voting population.
SECTION 2. Chapter 11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§11- Election-day registration. (a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, an individual who is eligible to vote but has not previously registered may register on election day by appearing in person at the polling place for the county in which the individual maintains residence; provided that in the case of an election conducted by mail, an individual who is eligible to vote may register at any walk-in location designated by the chief election officer or county clerk. The clerk may designate a registration clerk, who may be an election official, at any of the polling places in the county on the day of the election.
(b) The registration clerks shall process registration applications for unregistered voters and shall require such voters to submit:
(1) A signed affidavit in accordance with section 11-15, which shall include an affirmation of qualification to vote and a statement acknowledging that under penalty of perjury the voter has not and will not vote in any other polling place for that election; and
(2) Proof of residence in accordance with section 11-13, which may include:
(A) A valid driver's license or state identification card;
(B) A document or identification card with the name and address of the voter such as: a bank statement, paycheck, residential lease, current utility bill, or telephone bill;
(C) Any other document or identification card that is approved by the clerk as sufficient proof of residence; and
(D) An affidavit signed under oath in the presence of a registration clerk or other designated official approved by the election commission to attest to the residency of the person who is seeking voter registration.
(c) Registration may be challenged in accordance with section 11-25(b) and is subject to a final decision by the clerk or the registration clerk assigned to the polling place.
(d) The clerk shall add voters who properly register on election day to the general county register. Within thirty days of registration at the polling place a voter shall receive a notification by mail that shall include their name, address, district, and precinct.
(e) The chief election officer or the chief election officer's designee shall maintain a record of the number of individuals who registered to vote on election day and voted and the number of individuals who attempted to register on election day, but were unable to provide proof of residency pursuant to subsection (b). The record shall be included with the election returns for each precinct.
(f) The chief election officer shall establish rules pursuant to chapter 91 to implement this section."
SECTION 3. Section 11-24, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§11-24 Closing register. (a) At
4:30 p.m. on the [thirtieth] day [prior to] of each
primary, special primary, or special election[, but if the day is a
Saturday, Sunday, or holiday then at 4:30 p.m. on the first working day
immediately thereafter,] the general county register shall be closed to
registration for persons seeking to vote at the primary, special primary, or
special election and remain closed to registration until after the election,
subject to change only as provided in sections 11-21(c), 11-22, 11-25, 11-26,
and this section.
(b) Notwithstanding the closing of the
register for registration to vote at the primary or special primary election,
the register shall remain open for the registration of persons seeking to vote
at the general or special general election, until 4:30 p.m. on the [thirtieth]
day [prior to] of the general or special general election[,
but if the day is a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday then at 4:30 p.m. on the first
working day immediately thereafter,] at the end of which period the general
county register shall be closed to registration and remain closed until after
the general or special general election next following, subject to change only
as provided in sections 11-21(c), 11-22, 11-25, and 11-26."
SECTION 4. Section 11-119, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:
"(d) Each precinct shall receive a
sufficient number of ballots based on the number of registered voters and the
expected spoilage in the election concerned[.]; provided that the
number of ballots received shall not be less than one-third of the precinct's
total of-voting-age population. A sufficient number of absentee ballots
shall be delivered to each clerk not later than 4:30 p.m. on the fifteenth day
prior to the date of any election."
SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2013; provided that sections 2 to 4 shall apply to all primary, special, nonpartisan, and general elections, beginning with the primary election of 2016.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
Voter Registration; Election-Day Registration
Description:
Allows election-day voter registration. Requires the closing of the voting register to be extended to election day. Requires each precinct to have enough ballots for one-third of its eligible voting population.
The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
