Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 1746 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to encourage greater voter participation by requiring the Office of Elections to establish a vote-by-mail pilot program for elections in 2006. This program would replace traditional election day voting at polling sites and instead provide for all voting to be conducted by mail.

The Office of the City Clerk of the City and County of Honolulu testified in qualified support of this bill. The Office of the Governor opposed this measure. The Office of Elections submitted comments on this measure.

Your Committee finds that Hawaii has the lowest voter turnout rate in the nation, with just over 40 percent of eligible voters casting ballots. Providing an easier and more convenient way to vote, specifically through the use of a mail-in ballot would both increase the number of eligible residents voting in Hawaii elections and reduce the cost of conducting elections, by eliminating the need to secure staff, locations, and other logistical needs for a polling site on election day.

Your Committee has amended this bill by limiting the vote-by-mail pilot program to the three representative districts with the lowest turnout by percentage in the previous two election years. This amendment was based upon the testimony of the City Clerk, who indicated that the City and County of Honolulu could only afford to implement this program in three representative districts.

Technical, nonsubstantive amendments were also made for clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1746, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1746, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.