SB1272.DOC

PART I

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the age qualification to vote in any federal, state, or local election is eighteen years of age. However, there are individuals whose dates of birth fall between the primary and general elections and therefore, due to current age restrictions, are unable to participate in state and local primary elections, which determine the ballot for the general elections in which they will later be eligible to vote. Granting voting rights to these individuals to participate in the voting process for state and local elections may improve voter turnout among youths and better educate youths about the democratic process.

The purpose of this Act is to:

(1) Allow an individual who is seventeen years of age but will be eighteen years of age on or before the next state or local general election to register and vote at the state or local primary election immediately preceding that state or local general election; and

(2) Provide that in the case of an unopposed candidate in any state or local election, the candidate's name shall appear on the general election ballot.

PART II

SECTION 2. Section 11-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§11-11 Registration. A person who registers as required by law shall be entitled to vote at any federal election provided that the person shall have attained the age of eighteen at the time of that election. A person who registers as required by law shall be entitled to vote at any state or local election if the person will attain the age of eighteen by the date of that election; provided that a person who is seventeen years of age but will attain the age of eighteen by the date of the next state or local general election shall be entitled to vote beginning with the state or local primary election immediately preceding the state or local general election by which the person will attain the age of eighteen years. The county clerk shall be responsible for voter registration in the respective counties and the keeping of the general register and precinct lists within the county."

SECTION 3. Section 11-12, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§11-12 Age; place of registering. (a) Every person who has reached the age of eighteen years or who is seventeen years of age and will be eighteen years of age by the date of the next federal election, and is otherwise qualified to register may do so for that election. Every person who has reached the age of eighteen years or who is seventeen years of age but will be eighteen years of age by the date of the next state or local election, and is otherwise qualified to register may do so for that election and the state or local primary election immediately preceding that election. The person shall then be listed upon the appropriate county general register and precinct list. No person shall register or vote in any other precinct than that in which the person resides except as provided in section 11-21.

(b) A person who is otherwise qualified to register and is at least sixteen years of age but will not be eighteen years of age by the date of the next election may preregister upon satisfactory proof of age and shall be automatically registered upon reaching age eighteen[.] for federal elections or age seventeen for certain state or local primary elections in accordance with subsection (a)."

SECTION 4. Section 11-14.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§11-14.5 Residence address; confidentiality. (a) If a life threatening circumstance exists to:

(1) A law enforcement person;

(2) The law enforcement person's family; or

(3) Persons otherwise determined by the clerk of the county in which the person is registered,

that person may apply to the county clerk in writing to keep confidential the information relating to the residence address and telephone number contained in the affidavit of registration of that person, or any list or register prepared therefrom.

(b) If the disclosure of the residence address or telephone number of a person would result in an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy or expose the person or a member of the person's family to risk of bodily harm, the person may apply to the chief election officer or county clerk to keep confidential the person's residence address and telephone number contained in the person's affidavit of registration, or any list or register prepared therefrom.

(c) In accordance with procedures and rules adopted by the chief election officer or county clerk to protect personal privacy, the chief election officer or county clerk shall not disclose the residence address or telephone number of a person who is under the age of eighteen and is registered to vote at any federal, state, or local election.

[~~(c)~~] (d) Upon good cause shown, the clerk shall determine whether to grant confidentiality in accordance with rules established by the chief election officer, and that decision shall be final.

[~~(d)~~] (e) If the voter registration of a person covered by this section is challenged, the clerk shall release the residence address of that person to the challenger pursuant to rules established by the chief election officer. If an appeal is taken relating to the challenge, the residence address shall also be released to the appropriate appellate body."

SECTION 5. Section 11-15.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§11-15.5[]] Duties of all state agencies; voter registration. Each state agency that deals with the public shall make available to each member of the public who:

(1) Will be at least eighteen years of age [~~or older~~] by the date of the next federal election; or

(2) Is seventeen years of age but will be eighteen years of age by the date of the next state or local general election,

an application in the form of an affidavit for voter registration pursuant to section 11-15. The application shall be available by mail or in person depending on the manner in which the agency's services are requested by the person. The form of the application may be identical to that described and found in public telephone directories."

PART III

SECTION 6. Section 11-112, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) The ballot shall contain the names of the candidates, their party affiliation or nonpartisanship in partisan election contests, the offices for which they are running, and the district in which the election is being held. In the case of a candidate who has no opposition in any state or local election, the candidate's name shall be printed on the general election ballot.

In multimember races the ballot shall state that the voter shall not vote for more than the number of seats available or the number of candidates listed where such number is less than the seats available."

SECTION 7. Section 12-21, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§12-21 Official party ballots. The primary or special primary ballot shall be clearly designated as such. The names of the candidates of each party qualifying under section 11-61 or 11-62 and of nonpartisan candidates may be printed on separate ballots, or on a single ballot[.]; provided that the name of a candidate who is unopposed in any state or local election shall be printed on the general election ballot. The name of each party and the nonpartisan designation shall be distinctly printed and sufficiently separate from each other. The names of all candidates shall be printed on the ballot as provided in section 11-115. When the names of all candidates of the same party for the same office exceed the maximum number of voting positions on a single side of a ballot card, the excess names may be arranged and listed on both sides of the ballot card and additional ballot cards if necessary. When separate ballots for each party are not used, the order in which parties appear on the ballot, including nonpartisan, shall be determined by lot.

The chief election officer or the county clerk, in the case of county elections, shall approve printed samples or proofs of the respective party ballots as to uniformity of size, weight, shape, and thickness prior to final printing of the official ballots."

PART IV

SECTION 8. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 9. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2017; provided that part II of this Act shall take effect upon ratification of a constitutional amendment allowing individuals who are seventeen years of age but will be eighteen years of age on or before the date of the next state or local general election to register and vote in the state or local primary election immediately preceding that state or local general election.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	1272
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017
STATE OF HAWAII