THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	7
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THE OFFICE OF ELECTIONS TO STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF CONDUCTING ALL ELECTIONS BY MAIL.

     WHEREAS, Hawaii has the lowest voter turnout rate in the nation, with just over forty per cent of eligible voters voting in the two most recent elections, and in contrast, eighty-four per cent of registered voters in Oregon voted in 2004; and

     WHEREAS, Oregon's vote-by-mail system, approved by almost seventy per cent of Oregonians in a 1998 initiative, is credited with improving voter participation in Oregon; and

     WHEREAS, Oregon's vote-by-mail system is used for all elections and is popular with voters because it empowers the voter and eliminates many of the problems that exist in other voting systems; and

     WHEREAS, in Oregon, ballots are mailed to voters, and the voter is required to return the ballot by mail or by dropping it off at designated sites within a two-week period; and

     WHEREAS, although Oregon is the only state to use a vote-by-mail system for all elections, at least ten other states allow voting by mail at some level; and

     WHEREAS, a vote-by-mail system has a number of advantages over traditional polling; and

     WHEREAS, Act 37, Session Laws of Hawaii 2003, allows voting in any federal, state, or county election, other than a regularly scheduled primary or general election, to be conducted by mail in the determination of the Chief Election Officer or county clerk, as applicable; and

     WHEREAS, S.B. No. 433, SD2, HD1, 2006, would have required the establishment of a vote-by-mail pilot program and a report thereto to the Legislature, but the measure did not pass out of conference committee; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, that the Office of Elections is requested to conduct a study on the feasibility of an all-voting-by-mail system of voting, including but not limited to costs, logistics, education of the public; and language barriers; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Office of Elections report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2008; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chief Election Officer.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Voting by Mail Study