STAND

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 453

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: S.B. No. 433

S.D. 1

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 433 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONS BY MAIL,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish an election by mail pilot project in one or more precincts to be conducted during the 2006 federal or state primary or general election and make an appropriation for the administration and implementation of this pilot project.

The Office of Elections offered comments on the measure.

Your Committee finds that to reduce a steady three-decade decline in voter participation among Hawaii voters as well as eliminate "barriers" to voting, the Legislature must adopt and implement additional voter friendly initiatives such as voting by mail. Election by mail is used exclusively in Oregon and this program's effectiveness in getting people to vote is evidenced by Oregon's high voter participation rate, which is among the highest in the nation.

Your Committee has amended this measure so that it conforms more closely to the absentee ballot procedure and process currently utilized by the Office of Elections.

Specifically your Committee has:

(1) Eliminated the election by mail pilot project and made this election by mail program permanent and applicable to all federal, state, county primary, general and special elections to be conducted at an unspecified future primary election date;

(2) Established the procedures and processes for the mailing of ballot packages to eligible voters and handling undeliverable ballot packages;

(3) Required public notice before an election by mail is conducted;

(4) Established requirements for voting by mail, including procedures for returning the return identification envelope either by mail or at designated places of deposit;

(5) Created procedures for obtaining a replacement ballot; and

(6) Established the method of counting mail-in ballots.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 433, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 433, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs,

		____________________________ COLLEEN HANABUSA, Chair