STAND. COM. REP. NO.  725

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2013

RE:   H.B. No. 321

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 321 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to expand access to voting rights by permitting voter registration on the day of an election, allowing those who register on the day of the election to vote, and establishing procedures to implement election day voter registration. 

The Office of Elections, Common Cause Hawaii, American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii, League of Women Voters of Hawaii, and a concerned individual supported this bill.  Several concerned individuals opposed this measure.  The Office of the County Clerk of the County of Kauai, Office of the County Clerk of the County of Maui, Office of the County Clerk of the County of Hawaii, and Office of the City Clerk of the City and County of Honolulu provided comments.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Requiring, rather than permitting, the County Clerks to designate registration clerks to be at polling places in their respective counties on the day of the election;

     (2)  Removing language that would have made the County Clerk's or registration clerk's determination final where a voter's proper registration is challenged, and thereby allowing review of the ruling on a challenge by the Board of Registration and subsequently the Intermediate Court of Appeals;

     (3)  Changing the effective date to January 1, 2100, to promote further discussion; and

     (4)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments 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. 321, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 321, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

____________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair