SB209.DOC

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	209
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to elections by mail.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. (a) The office of elections shall develop and implement a vote-by-mail pilot program that shall:

(1) Apply to all elections, as that term is defined in section 11-302, Hawaii Revised Statutes, held in the State in 2014;

(2) Confine the vote-by-mail pilot program to one state representative district within each county as determined pursuant to subsection (b); provided that the office of elections shall make one or more walk-in polling places available for pilot program voters who the office of elections determines are unable to vote by mail because of the absence of a permanent mailing address or any other reason that the office of elections deems appropriate;

(3) Require that vote-by-mail ballots be received by the close of the polls on election day to ensure that the ballots are counted; and

(4) Provide voter education materials relating to the pilot program to voters who are eligible for the pilot program.

(b) Within each county, the office of elections shall implement the pilot program in the state representative district that the office of elections determines to have the lowest voter turnout of all state representative districts within the county for the two most recent general elections; provided that if more than one state representative district qualifies under this subsection, the office of elections shall select the state representative district it deems to be the most suitable for the purposes of this Act. For purposes of this subsection, "voter turnout" means the percentage of all registered voters within a state representative district who vote in a given election.

(c) Upon the designation of state representative districts for the pilot program pursuant to subsection (b), but not later than July 1, 2014, the office of elections shall submit a preliminary report to the legislature that includes:

(1) Identification of the state representative districts designated by the office of elections for the pilot program, including a description of the method used to select the districts;

(2) The current status of implementation of the pilot program; and

(3) A brief description of any operational problems or legal impediments that have affected or are anticipated to affect implementation of the pilot program.

(d) Upon the conclusion of the 2014 general election, but not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2015, the office of elections shall submit a report to the legislature that includes:

(1) Voter demographics, turnout, and other statistical information, as deemed necessary by the chief election officer, to accurately assess the efficacy of the pilot program for each designated state representative district;

(2) Efforts made by the office of elections to promote and provide voter education about the pilot program and the cost of those efforts;

(3) The effect, if any, of the pilot program on increasing or decreasing voter turnout;

(4) Any operational problems or legal impediments that arose and affected the implementation or operation of the pilot program;

(5) The actual cost of implementing the pilot program, including postage costs;

(6) A recommendation as to whether the pilot program should be made permanent on a limited or statewide basis and, if recommended to be made permanent, any proposed statutory revisions necessary to effectuate the mail-in voting program; and

(7) An estimate of the cost, including postage costs, to continue the pilot program permanently on a limited or statewide basis.

SECTION 2. 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 year 2013-2014 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2014-2015 for the vote-by-mail pilot program required by this Act.

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

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2013, and shall be repealed on June 30, 2015.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________