Major Changes Proposed for Hawaii Election Code

Source: Honolulu Starbulletin.com [3] 

Citizen lawsuit challenging Internet voting prompted code review 

Hawaii Proposes Major Revision of Election Rules

By Craig Gima, Star-Bulletin, Dec 10, 2009

The state Office of Elections hopes to complete as early as next month the first major revision since 2000 of the rules

ON HAWAII ELECTIONS Proposed Rule Changes Public Hearing 12.10.09 10 a.m. Keoni Ana Building Videoconference Center, Room 302 1177 Alakea St. Honolulu People can also testify at video conference centers on the neighbor islands in: » Hilo at the Hilo State Office Building; » Kona at the Hawaii County Council Kona Office; » Wailuku at the Wailuku Judiciary Building and; » Lihue at the Lihue State Office Building   ______________________ Written testimony can be e-mailed to: elections[at]hawaii[dot]gov [4] or faxed to (808) 453-6006. Written testimony will be accepted for the next two days.   ______________________ RELATED DOCUMENTS Detailed Comparison of Existing Rules to Proposed Changes Notice of public hearing [ Download PDF [5] ]  Proposed rules to be adopted [ Download PDF [6] ]  Comparison of election rules [ Download PDF [7] ]

governing how elections are held in Hawaii.

The proposed rules cover new voting systems and electronic voting, mail-in elections, absentee voting and even the process to make election rules.

The rule changes were prompted in part by a Maui lawsuit challenging the use of electronic voting machines and the sending of election results through the Internet or telephone lines.

Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza decided that the state needs to hold a public hearing to come up with administrative rules governing electronic voting before new voting machines can be used in next year's elections.

As a result, the Office of Elections suspended the selection of a company to supply voting machines for the 2010 elections.

Chief Election Officer Kevin Cronin, who is resigning at the end of the month, hopes the rules can be finalized in January or February, which would allow the state to sign a contract for the new machines this spring.

A public hearing on the rules is scheduled for today.

Any major changes to the proposed rules could require another public hearing and may push the voting machine contract into the summer, leaving only a few months or weeks for voters and election officials to become familiar with the system before the Sept. 18 primary.

A status conference is scheduled for tomorrow on Maui, said Lance Collins, the attorney who filed the lawsuit.

Collins said he's not sure that the proposed rules "completely address all the concerns" in the lawsuit and said the issue of electronic voting and proper funding to make sure next year's elections go smoothly may need to be taken up by the Legislature.

"This (upcoming election) is a slow-moving train wreck and we're still far enough away that we can get everything off the track," Collins said.

Cronin said today's hearing will "allow the public and anyone interested to help make the administrative rules better for everybody." He said the rules need updating, adding that some of them date back to the time when the lieutenant governor ran elections.

Bob Babson, the lead plaintiff in the Maui lawsuit, said he is opposed to sending any election results via the Internet or telephone lines.

"It's not secure," Babson said. "They could easily just put it on a jet and fly it over."

A new section on holding elections by mail is based on Honolulu's experience with two recent special elections held by mail to find replacements for Duke Bainum and Barbara Marshall on the City Council, said Glen Takahashi, the city's election administrator.

Takahashi said he's mostly in support of the rule changes. But some county election officials were hoping to see more specific language about transmitting information and have concerns about a rule waiving the requirement for an absentee voter application in special cases.
 
Find this article at:
http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20091210_state_proposes_major_revision_... [3]
 

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HA-elections-public-notice-121009.pdf [5]	21.6 KB
HA-Elections-Proposed-Rules-121009.pdf [6]	3.46 MB
HA-Election-Rule-Changes-Comparison-121009.pdf [7]	376.25 KB

Hawaii Voter Registration

Hawaii Voter Registration Database Report:
State Regulations and Procedures Implementing HAVA Voter Registration Requirements

Attached is the Hawaii Voter Registration Information as set forth in Making the List, Database Matching and Verification Processes for Voter Registration published by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University on March 24, 2006. This document contains available information about voter regtistration current as of the date of publication.

Click to download the Hawaii Voter Registration report [8]

Federal law now requires, as of January 1, 2006, that states create and maintain statewide databases to serve as the central source of voter registration information. Citizens’ ability to get on the rolls (and thus their ability to vote and have their votes counted) will now depend on the policies and procedures governing the use of these databases in the voter registration process. Evidence demonstrates that poor policy and procedure choices could result in the unwarranted disenfranchisement of millions of eligible citizens attempting to register to vote. The new statewide databases, and their role in the voter registration process, are poorly understood, but extremely consequential.

This report, issued just as the state databases begin to come online, presents the first comprehensive catalog of the widely varying state database practices governing how (and in some cases, whether) individuals seeking to register will be placed on the voter rolls.

The report covers the state’s voter registration process, from the application form up through Election Day - including the intake of registration forms, the manner in which information from the forms may be matched to other government lists, the consequences of the match process, and any opportunity to correct errors. Each variation at each step of the process has tangible consequences for voters seeking to register and vote in 2006 and beyond.

IMPORTANT: Because of the possibility that voter information may differ from database to database (abbreviations, street designations, etc.) or because of data entry errors, valid voter registration data may be rejected. Individual voters are urged to contact their county clerk or local election board to determine that they are properly registered. Many such election authorities maintain online services for this purpose, other will require a telephone call or perhaps a written inquiry to determine the voter's eligibility.

As an addendum to this state report, a fill-in form for voter registration is presented which can be completed, printed and sent to the appropriate registratrar of voters (generally the county Clerk or local election board). The proper form of submission and location is included on the registration form.

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Hawaii.pdf [9]	370.62 KB