Establishes a mail-in ballot pilot project for representative districts with the lowest voter turnout in each county. Requires chief election officer to mail a mail-in ballot to all registered voters for the 2006 primary and general elections. Describes procedures for voting, return of mail-in ballot, replacement of ballot.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. The purpose of this Act is to establish a mail-in voting pilot project for a representative district in each county that had the lowest percentage of voter turnout in the 2004 general election.

SECTION 2. Voting by mail; general principles. Beginning in 2006, the biennial primary and general election for the representative district of each county that experienced the lowest percentage of registered voter turnout in the 2004 general election shall be conducted by mail, pursuant to section 3 of this Act and rules adopted by the chief election officer under chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes. Any violation, wrongdoing, or discrepancy relating to these rules shall be made known to the county clerk or the chief election officer at the earliest possible time. The secrecy of the ballot and the accurate recording, counting, and safeguarding of the ballot shall be paramount.

SECTION 3. Identification and designation of a representative district in each county to participate in the mail-in election pilot project. (a) Within one hundred twenty days after the 2004 general election, the chief election officer shall identify, based on the data available to the chief election officer, the representative district in each county that has the lowest percentage of registered voters that voted in the 2004 general election. If there is a tie within a county between representative districts with the lowest percentage of registered voters who voted in the 2004 general election, the chief election officer shall select the representative district with the lowest registered voter turnout that occupies the largest geographic area in the county to participate in the mail-in election process established under this Act. The decision by the chief election officer to select a representative district in the event of a tie shall be final and not subject to appeal.

(b) The chief election officer shall designate a representative district within each county to participate in the mail-in election pilot project established under this Act within sixty days of the representative district's identification under subsection (a).

SECTION 4. Voting by mail; function of polling place. (a) On election days in the representative districts where the elections are conducted by mail-in ballot, unless otherwise designated as a voting place by the chief election officer, no polling place shall be open to voters except for the purpose of collecting mail-in ballots.

(b) The chief election officer shall adopt rules to provide for uniformity in the conduct of state elections by mail in cooperation with county clerks.

SECTION 5. Voting by mail; designation of ballot collection sites; mail-in ballot replacement sites; hours of operation. (a) When conducting an election by mail, each county clerk may designate the clerk's office or one central location in each representative district in which the election is conducted as the place to obtain a replacement ballot. Replacement ballots may be obtained at the location designated by the county clerk or, upon verification by the county clerk or the county clerk's official designee that the voter is qualified to vote in the election for which the replacement ballot is being sought, the replacement ballot may be mailed to the voter; provided that the mailing of the replacement ballot is in accordance with section 7(b).

(b) The chief election officer by rule shall establish requirements and criteria for the designation of deposit sites for the ballots cast in the mail-in election that are not returned by mail. The sites so designated shall be open on the date of the election for at least eight hours, but shall be open until at least 8:00 p.m.; provided that the designated places shall be open only for the collection of mail-in ballots that would otherwise not meet the deadline requirement in section 9 of this Act.

SECTION 6. Distribution by mail of mail-in ballots. The clerk of each county shall mail, by nonforwardable mail, an official ballot with a return identification envelope, ballot discard envelope in the case of a primary election, and a secrecy voted ballot envelope to each registered voter by the following dates:

Following the latter dates of paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively, a registered voter registered to vote in a representative district designated under section 3(b) of this Act not receiving a ballot may notify the applicable county clerk's office and request a replacement ballot.

SECTION 7. Replacement ballot. (a) A registered voter registered to vote in a representative district designated under section 3(b) of this Act may obtain a replacement ballot if the ballot is destroyed, spoiled, lost, or not received by the registered voter, or if the voter incorrectly marks a ballot in the process of voting, or receives an illegible or misprinted ballot.

(b) The period in which to issue replacement ballots shall open on the first workday after the date the ballots are mailed pursuant to section 6 of this Act. The period shall close at 4:30 p.m., seven workdays prior to the postmark deadline date for the return of ballots by mail, and no replacement ballots shall be issued thereafter.

(c) Immediately upon receipt of a replacement ballot request within the time limit specified in subsection (b), records shall be examined by the county clerk or the county clerk's official designee, to ascertain whether or not the person is qualified and entitled to vote as requested. Upon verification, a replacement ballot shall be issued and mailed in an official election packet. All requests received on the last day of the reissuing period shall be postmarked to the voter as soon as practicable, but no later than twenty-four hours after receipt.

(d) The county clerk shall keep a record of each replacement ballot provided under this section. The county clerk may reissue and mail a new ballot that shall be appropriately marked "Second Ballot". The originally issued ballot, if returned, shall be marked "spoiled" and considered void. All spoiled, invalid, or challenged ballots shall be segregated and retained apart from other ballots in a secure manner and turned over to the chief election officer.

SECTION 8. Ballot requirements. A mail-in ballot shall be counted only if:

Unsigned voted mail-in ballot envelopes shall be disqualified and declared invalid. Voted mail-in ballot envelopes that, when opened, contain no ballots shall be marked and considered invalid for auditing purposes and deposited in the invalid ballot box.

SECTION 9. Mail-in ballot due date. All mail-in ballots that are returned by mail shall be in the return envelope provided and postmarked no later than the date of the primary or the date of the general election, respectively. Mail-in ballots may also be returned at precinct polling places designated pursuant to section 5 on the day of the election. Any mail-in ballot received by the chief election officer on the primary or general election day after the hours of operation established pursuant to section 5, after the respective primary or general election day, or postmarked after the respective primary or general election day shall be disqualified and declared invalid.

For the purposes of this section:

shall be considered received by the chief election officer and valid for the respective election for which the ballot was cast; provided that the mail-in ballot meets all other validation and eligibility requirements of this Act.

SECTION 10. Name or address change. A registered voter who has changed the voter's name or residence in the county, or county of residence, after the close of registration as provided in section 11-18, 11-19, or 11-21, Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall request a mail-in ballot in person from the county clerk and shall not receive a ballot by mail as provided in section 6 of this Act.

SECTION 11. Certain election statutes not applicable to pilot project. Upon the designation of a representative district within each county to participate in the mail-in election pilot project under section 3 of this Act, chapter 15, Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall not apply to those representative districts so designated for the election period in which this Act is operative.

SECTION 12. Pilot project promotion; education and outreach. The chief election officer shall establish advertising campaigns, develop and distribute educational materials, and operate outreach programs to promote understanding and participation in the pilot project by voters in the representative districts designated under section 3 of this Act.

SECTION 13. Pilot project efficacy; report. Upon the conclusion of the 2006 general election, but not later than the convening of the 2007 regular session, the chief election officer shall submit a report to the legislature that includes but is not limited to:

SECTION 14. Section 11-25, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§11-25 Challenge by voters; grounds; procedure. (a) Challenging prior to election day. Any registered voter may challenge the right of a person to be or to remain registered as a voter in any precinct for any cause not previously decided by the board of registration or the supreme court in respect to the same person; provided that in an election of members of the board of trustees of the office of Hawaiian affairs, the voter making the challenge must be registered to vote in that election. The challenge shall be in writing, setting forth the grounds upon which it is based, and be signed by the person making the challenge. The challenge shall be delivered to the clerk who shall forthwith serve notice thereof on the person challenged. The clerk [shall], as soon as possible, shall investigate and rule on the challenge.

(b) Challenging on election day. Any voter rightfully in the polling place may challenge the right to vote of any person who comes to the precinct officials for voting purposes. The challenge shall be on the grounds that the voter is not the person the voter alleges to be[,] or that the voter is not entitled to vote in that precinct; provided that only in an election of members of the board of trustees of the office of Hawaiian affairs, a person registered to vote in that election may also challenge on the grounds that the voter is not Hawaiian. No other or further challenge shall be allowed. Any person thus challenged shall first be given the opportunity to make the relevant correction pursuant to section 11-21. The challenge shall be considered and decided immediately by the precinct officials and the ruling shall be announced.

(c) If neither the challenger nor the challenged voter [shall appeal] appeals the ruling of the clerk or the precinct officials, then the voter shall either be allowed to vote or be prevented from voting in accordance with the ruling. If an appeal is taken to the board of registration, the challenged voter shall be allowed to vote; provided that ballot is placed in a sealed envelope to be later counted or rejected in accordance with the ruling on appeal. The chief election officer shall adopt rules in accordance with chapter 91 to safeguard the secrecy of the challenged voter's ballot.

(d) Challenging when voting by mail. For a challenge in an election conducted by mail, a person's ballot may be challenged at any time before the ballot is removed from its return envelope for processing. The challenge shall be in writing, setting forth the grounds upon which it is based, and be signed by the person making the challenge. The challenge shall be delivered to the clerk who shall forthwith serve notice thereof on the person challenged. The clerk, as soon as possible, shall investigate and rule on the challenge."

SECTION 15. Section 11-140, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§11-140 Spoiled ballots. (a) In elections using the paper ballot and electronic voting systems, if a voter spoils a ballot, the voter may obtain another upon returning the spoiled one. Before returning the spoiled ballot, the voter shall conform to the procedure promulgated by the chief election officer to retain the secrecy of the vote.

(b) In elections using a mail-in ballot, if a voter spoils a ballot, the voter may obtain a replacement mail-in ballot marked "second ballot" as provided in section 7 of Act , Session Laws of Hawaii 2005."

SECTION 16. Section 11-152, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§11-152 Method of counting. (a) In an election using the paper ballot voting system, immediately after the close of the polls, the chairperson of the precinct officials shall open the ballot box. The precinct officials at the precinct shall proceed to count the votes as follows:

(b) In those precincts using the electronic voting system, the ballots shall be taken in the sealed ballot boxes to the counting center according to the procedure and schedule promulgated by the chief election officer to promote the security of the ballots. In the presence of official observers, counting center employees may start to count the ballots prior to the closing of the polls, provided there shall be no printout by the computer or other disclosure of the number of votes cast for a candidate or on a question prior to the closing of the polls. For the purposes of this section, the closing of the polls is that time identified in section 11-131 as the closing hour of voting.

(c) In an election using mail-in ballots, ballots shall be secured in a manner and according to procedures adopted by the chief election officer to promote the security of the ballots. Not sooner than the fifth day before the date of an election, in preparation for counting ballots delivered by mail, the county clerk may begin opening return identification and secrecy envelopes and verifying signatures of ballots delivered by mail and received by the county clerk. The county clerk may take any other actions that are necessary to allow the counting of ballots delivered by mail to begin on election day.

All ballots and voted mail in ballot envelopes containing the voter's signature shall be held for safekeeping for thirty calendar days after the election results have been certified pursuant to section 11-155.

The total number of ballots shall be verified to equal the total number of voted ballot envelopes recorded as received with the mail in ballots. When there are more ballots than the records show as having been received, it shall be an overage and, when less ballots, it shall be a shortage. The chief election officer shall make a note of any overage or shortage after the vote is tabulated. Should the overage or shortage of ballots be significant enough to change the outcome of any election contest, an investigation shall be conducted by the chief election officer who may pursue legal action as provided in part XI (election contests)."

SECTION 17. Section 12-31, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§12-31 Selection of party ballot; voting. (a) No person eligible to vote in any primary or special primary election shall be required to state a party preference or nonpartisanship as a condition of voting. Each voter shall be issued the primary or special primary ballot for each party and the nonpartisan primary or special primary ballot. A voter shall be entitled to vote only for candidates of one party or only for nonpartisan candidates. If the primary or special primary ballot is marked contrary to this [paragraph,] subsection, the ballot shall not be counted.

(b) In any primary or special primary election [in the year 1979 and thereafter], a voter shall be entitled to select and to vote the ballot of any one party or nonpartisan, regardless of which ballot the voter voted in any preceding primary or special primary election.

(c) In any election conducted by mail-in ballot only, each voter shall be issued the primary or special primary ballot for each party and the nonpartisan primary or special primary ballot. A secrecy discard envelope for the ballots of the non-selected party shall be mailed to each voter along with the official ballot envelope. A voter may vote only for candidates of one party or only for nonpartisan candidates. If the primary or special primary ballot is marked with votes for candidates of more than one party, or for nonpartisan candidates and candidates of a party, the ballot shall not be counted. The chief election officer may develop envelopes with distinguishing marks, colors, or sizes to instruct the voter of the discard ballots."

SECTION 18. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal biennium 2005-2007, for the chief election officer to conduct the mail-in voting pilot project established in this Act. The chief election officer may utilize a portion of the appropriation for advertising, education, and outreach programs to promote the pilot project.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the office of elections for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 19. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 20. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2005, and shall be repealed on December 31, 2007; provided that sections 11-25, 11-140, 11-152, and 12-31, Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall be reenacted in the form in which they read on the day before the effective date of this Act.