HR241

WHEREAS, in Hawaii, county charters establish that nonpartisan county council members are elected through county nonpartisan first and second special elections that are held in conjunction with the state primary and general elections, respectively, of the applicable election year; and

WHEREAS, certain county council members in the State are elected to represent a specifically designated geographic area or district and "at-large" county council members represent all residents of an entire county; and

WHEREAS, a county council may include both district representative members and "at-large" members; and

WHEREAS, generally, council members who represent a designated district are elected by the registered voters who reside in that district, while at-large members are elected by all of the registered voters in a county; and

WHEREAS, article 3 of the Maui County Charter provides for district representation for Maui Council members by mandating that:

(1) One member shall be a resident of the island of Lanai;

(2) One member shall be a resident of the island of Molokai;

(3) One member shall be a resident of East Maui;

(4) One member shall be a resident of West Maui;

(5) One member shall be a resident of the area of Makawao-Haiku-Paia;

(6) One member shall be a resident of Upcountry Maui;

(7) One member shall be a resident of South Maui;

(8) One member shall be a resident of Kahului; and

(9) One member shall be a resident of the area of Wailuku-Waihee-Waikapu; and

WHEREAS, however, there is no corresponding residency requirement for voters; instead, article 3 provides that every registered voter in Maui County, which includes residents of Maui, Lanai, and Molokai, has the right to vote for each and every member of Maui County Council; and

WHEREAS, Maui County Council combines district representation with "at-large" voting such that the nine members of the council represent designated districts, but are elected "at-large" by all of the registered voters throughout Maui County, without regard to the residency of the voters; and

WHEREAS, residency requirements for county council members effectively provide that all residents of a county have a county council member who is responsive to the concerns of their district; however, allowing county-wide voters to elect district council members who represent specific geographic districts could result in voter conflict of interest, uninformed voters, or voter apathy; and

WHEREAS, "district voting", or the election of a council members by the registered voters who reside in the council district area, would allow voters to choose the council candidate whom they believe would most effectively represent their own district; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, that this body requests all counties to institute district voting for council members by providing that:

(1) All county residents have district representation by at least one county council member who resides in a specifically designated geographic area or district; and

(2) A council member who represents a designated district shall be elected by the registered voters who reside in the district represented by that council member; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Mayor, the Chairperson of the Council, and the County Clerk of each respective county, and the Chief Election Officer.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Election of District Council Members

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	241
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII