STAND.
COM. REP. NO. 1619
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2023
RE: S.B. No. 141
S.D. 1
H.D. 1
Honorable Scott K. Saiki
Speaker, House of Representatives
Thirty-Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2023
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 141, S.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONS,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to:
(1) Require presidential electors to take a pledge that they will vote for their party's nominee;
(2) Provide for a process of invalidating the vote and removing any faithless elector and procedures for their replacement; and
(3) Update rules for certification of electors and their votes to be in full compliance with federal law.
Your Committee finds that the United States Supreme Court has upheld legislation that provided states with the authority to bind their electors to the candidates they have pledged to support. This measure is intended to address the rare but historically recent problem of presidential electors who do not adhere to their obligation to vote faithfully for their parties' candidates.
Your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Changing the effective date to June 30, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and
(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 141, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 141, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs,
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____________________________ DAVID A. TARNAS, Chair |
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