Bill Text: HI HB1444 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To Ranked-choice Voting.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-12-11 - Carried over to 2024 Regular Session. [HB1444 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2024-HB1444-Introduced.html
|
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
1444 |
|
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023 |
|
|
|
STATE OF HAWAII |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO RANKED-CHOICE VOTING.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the current plurality voting method for most elections in Hawaii allows a candidate to win an election with less than a majority of votes when there are three or more candidates for the office. In elections with many candidates, this may result in candidates who received small percentages of votes or who are not the most favored among the voters winning the election. Ultimately, this voting method may undermine the ability of elected officials to govern effectively due to concerns about a lack of public support for and confidence in winners.
The legislature further finds that ranked-choice voting is an election method that allows voters to rank candidates as the voter's first, second, and subsequent choices. Tabulation begins with each voter's first choice vote. If a candidate receives a majority of votes, that candidate wins. If no candidate receives a majority of votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and each vote counting for that candidate counts for the voter's second choice in the subsequent round. If no candidate receives a majority in the second tabulation, the process is repeated by eliminating the candidate with the fewest votes and counting each vote for the highest-ranked remaining candidate in the next round.
Unlike plurality voting, ranked-choice voting ensures that elected officials have the support of a majority or near majority of voters because it allows voters to indicate their preferences among more than one candidate. This allows voters to vote for their favorite candidate without fear of helping to elect their least favorite candidate.
The legislature also finds that ranked-choice voting has been used effectively around the world, including in national elections in Australia, Ireland, Malta, and the United Kingdom; state primary, congressional, and presidential elections in Alaska and Maine; and for local elections in more than twenty United States cities.
In 2022, the legislature established ranked-choice voting for special federal elections and special elections of vacant county council seats in Hawaii. Therefore, Hawaii's voting systems, including optical scanners, should be able to process ranked‑choice voting for all elections with little or no difficulty.
The purpose of this Act is to expand the use of the ranked‑choice voting method for all elections for elective office.
SECTION 2. Chapter 11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding five new sections to part VII to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§11-A Ranked-choice method; applicability. The ranked‑choice method shall be
used in all contests for elected office.
If the ranked-choice voting method is used in a special election, the
special election shall consist of only one election contest and no subsequent
separate runoff election shall be held.
§11-B Ranked-choice method; ballots. (a)
In addition to the requirements under sections 11-111 and 11-119, in any
contest conducted by ranked-choice voting with three or more qualified
candidates, including qualified write-ins, the ballot shall allow voters to
rank candidates in order of preference.
(b) If more than one seat is to be filled by the
contest, the voter may be limited to ranking no more than twice the number of
candidates as seats to be filled.
Instructions on the ballot for contests with more than one seat to be
filled shall include the following statement:
"You may rank up to twice
the number of candidates as seats to be filled in order of preference. Marking a second choice cannot help defeat
your first choice. Marking a subsequent
choice cannot help defeat your higher-ranked choices."
(c) The ballot shall not interfere with a voter's
ability to rank a write-in candidate.
(d) The chief election officer or county clerk in
the case of a county election shall print informational materials containing a
facsimile ballot that depicts the official ballot to be used in the election
and voting instructions and procedures for the election using the ranked-choice
method. The informational materials
shall be:
(1) Posted near the
entrance to the polling place where the information can be easily seen by
voters before voting;
(2) Posted in or
near a voting booth;
(3) Included in the
instruction materials for mail-in and absentee ballots;
(4) Posted on the
website of the office of elections or county clerk, as applicable; and
(5) Included in any
voter education materials distributed by the office of elections or county
clerk in the case of a county election held before an election using the ranked-choice
method.
(e) Before printing the ballots for an election
using the ranked-choice method, the chief election officer or county clerk in
the case of a county election shall make a sample ballot available on the
website of the office of elections or county clerk, as applicable. The sample ballot shall be accessible on the
applicable website for no less than fifteen calendar days before printing for
public review and comment.
§11-C Ranked-choice voting tabulation. (a)
Single winner tabulation. In any
contest for exactly one office conducted by ranked-choice voting, tabulation
shall proceed in rounds. Each round
shall proceed sequentially as follows:
(1) To determine
the winner in an election using the ranked-choice method, election officials
shall initially count the ballots according to the first-choice candidate
marked on each ballot. If at the end of
the initial count, one candidate receives a majority of the first-choice votes
cast, then that candidate shall be deemed to have received the greatest number
of votes and tabulation shall be declared complete; and
(2) If at the end
of the initial count, no candidate receives a majority of the first-choice
votes cast, the chief election officer or county clerk, as applicable, shall
declare that no candidate has received a majority of first-choice votes and
that the candidate with the fewest first-choice votes shall be declared
defeated. The chief election officer or
county clerk, as applicable, shall recalculate the votes using the continuing
candidate with the next highest ranking on each of the ballots for each voter
who had selected a defeated candidate.
If after the first round of recalculating votes, no candidate has
received a majority of votes cast for the office, the process of eliminating
last-place candidates, recalculating the eliminated candidates' votes
(including any previously recalculated votes) to continuing candidates, and
tabulating results shall continue until one candidate receives a majority of
the votes cast or the majority of the votes cast for the two remaining
candidates. Blank and spoiled votes
shall not be tabulated.
(b) Multi-winner tabulation. In any contest for more than one office
conducted by ranked-choice voting, tabulation shall proceed in rounds. If, in the initial tabulation, the number of
candidates is less than or equal to the number of offices to be elected, then
all candidates shall be declared elected and tabulation shall be declared
complete. Otherwise, each round shall
proceed sequentially, until tabulation is complete, as follows:
(1) Each ballot
shall count, at its current transfer value, for the highest-ranked continuing
candidate on that ballot. If the sum of
the number of elected candidates and the number of continuing candidates is
equal to the sum of one and the number of offices to be elected, then the
candidate with the fewest votes shall be declared defeated, all other
continuing candidates shall be declared elected, and tabulation shall be
declared complete;
(2) If at least one
continuing candidate has more votes than the election threshold for the
contest, then each of those candidates shall be declared elected. Each ballot counting for an elected candidate
shall be assigned a new transfer value equal to the product of the ballot's
current transfer value and the surplus fraction for the elected candidate,
rounded down to four decimal places and ignoring any remainder. Each candidate elected under this paragraph
shall be deemed to have a number of votes equal to the election threshold for
the contest in all subsequent rounds. A
new round shall begin with paragraph (1); and
(3) If no candidate
is elected under paragraph (2), then the continuing candidate with the fewest
votes shall be declared defeated, and a new round shall begin with paragraph
(1).
(c) Inactive ballots. In any round of tabulation in a contest
conducted by ranked-choice voting, a ballot that does not contain a
highest-ranked continuing candidate shall not count for any candidate. Instead, it shall be counted as an overvote,
abstention, or exhausted ballot.
(d) For the purposes of this section:
"Abstention" means a
ballot that does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate and either
more than one ranking order contains the same candidate or one or more ranking
orders did not contain any candidate.
"Election threshold"
means the number of votes sufficient for a candidate to be elected in a
multi-winner contest. The election
threshold is calculated by dividing the total number of votes counting for continuing
candidates in the first round by the sum of one plus the number of offices to
be filled, rounding up to four decimal places.
"Exhausted ballot"
means a ballot that does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate and
is not an abstention or an overvote.
"Overvote" means a
ballot that does not contain a highest-ranked continuing candidate because the
highest ranking order contains more than one candidate, is not a skipped
ranking, and does not contain a candidate who is declared elected or defeated.
"Surplus fraction" means
a number equal to the quotient of the difference between an elected candidate's
vote total and the election threshold, divided by the candidate's vote total,
rounded down to four decimal places, ignoring any remainder.
"Transfer value" means
the proportion of a vote that a ballot will contribute to its highest-ranked
continuing candidate. Each ballot begins
with a transfer value of 1. If a ballot
contributes to the election of a candidate under the multi-winner tabulation,
it receives a new transfer value.
§11-D Ranked-choice method; vote count. (a)
Each voter's ballot shall count for no more than one candidate per
contest in each round of tabulation.
Once a ballot in a contest using the ranked-choice method has no more
available choices ranked on it, the ballot shall be deemed exhausted for that
contest.
(b) If a ballot in a contest using the ranked-choice
method skips a ranking by leaving a ranking blank and then ranking a candidate
at a subsequent ranking, the ballot for that contest shall be deemed
exhausted. A ballot that gives two or
more candidates the same ranking in a single contest shall be deemed exhausted
when that ranking is reached, unless only one of the candidates so ranked is
still in the race when the vote is due to be transferred pursuant to section
11-C(b).
(c) If a tie between candidates for last place,
and thus elimination, occurs during any round of tabulation, the tie shall be
resolved by eliminating the candidate who received the fewest number of
combined first-choice votes and recalculated votes at the previous round of
tabulation. In the case of a tie to
which a previous round of tabulation does not apply, or where the previous
round of tabulation was also a tie, the tie shall be resolved by drawing lots;
provided that if a tie occurs when there are only two candidates remaining, the
tie shall be resolved as set forth in section 11‑157.
(d) In any contest conducted by ranked-choice
voting, the chief election official may modify the tabulation to include batch
elimination. If the tabulation includes
batch elimination, then at any time the continuing candidate with the fewest
votes would be declared defeated, each continuing candidate in the elimination
batch shall be declared simultaneously defeated instead. A continuing candidate shall be in the
elimination batch if the number of elected and continuing candidates with more
votes than that candidate is greater than the number of offices to be elected,
and it is deemed mathematically impossible for that candidate to be elected for
any of the following reasons:
(1) The candidate
has fewer votes than any other continuing candidate;
(2) The candidate's
current vote total plus all votes that could possibly be transferred to the
candidate in future rounds would not be deemed to be enough to equal or surpass
the continuing candidate with the next higher current vote total;
(3) The candidate
has a lower current vote total than the continuing candidate who is described
under paragraph (2); or
(4) The number of
ballots with any highest-ranked continuing candidate, on which that candidate
is ranked at any ranking order, is fewer than the following:
(A) For
contests for exactly one office, the current vote total of the continuing
candidate with the greatest number of votes; or
(B) For
contests for more than one office, the current vote total of any of the top
"x" continuing candidates with the highest current vote totals, where
"x" is the number of offices to be elected.
§11-E Rulemaking authority. (a)
The chief election officer shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to
implement the use of mechanical, electronic, or other means devised for
marking, sorting, and counting the ballots and tabulating and transferring the
votes in an election using the ranked-choice method.
(b) The chief election official may make any changes to the ranked-choice voting ballot and tabulation process necessary to preserve the secrecy of the ballot and ensure the integrity and smooth functioning of the election; provided that ranked‑choice voting shall still be used and the smallest number of changes are made to achieve its purposes."
SECTION 3. Section 11-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding five new definitions to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:
""Continuing
candidate" means any candidate that has not been declared defeated or
elected.
"Highest-ranked continuing
candidate" means the candidate assigned to the highest ranking order that
is not a skipped ranking, does not follow two consecutive skipped rankings, and
does not contain a candidate who is declared elected or defeated.
"Ranking order" means
the number available to be assigned by a voter to a candidate to express the
voter's choice for that candidate. The
number "1" is the highest ranking order, followed by "2",
and then "3", and so on.
"Round" means an
instance of the sequence of voting tabulation whether for single winner
contests or multi-winner contests.
"Skipped ranking" means
a voter has left a ranking order unassigned but ranks a candidate at a
subsequent ranking order."
SECTION 4. Section 11-91, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
"(c) For any election conducted by ranked-choice
voting pursuant to [section 11-100,] sections 11-A to 11-E, the election
proclamation shall include a statement that votes shall be cast and tabulated
using ranked-choice voting and shall provide an explanation of ranked-choice
voting."
SECTION 5. Section 11-112, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (g) to read as follows:
"(g) The ballot may include information necessary
to use ranked-choice voting as described in [section 11-100.] sections
11-A to 11-E."
SECTION 6. Section 11-151, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§11-151 Vote count. Except for contests conducted by
ranked-choice voting pursuant to [section 11-100,] sections 11-A to
11-E, each contest or question on a ballot shall be counted independently
as follows:
(1) If the votes cast in a contest or on a question are equal to or less than the number to be elected or chosen for that contest or question, the votes for that contest or question shall be counted;
(2) If the votes cast in a contest or question exceed the number to be elected or chosen for that contest or question, the votes for that contest or question shall not be counted; and
(3) If a contest or question requires a majority of the votes for passage, any blank, spoiled, or invalid ballot shall not be tallied for passage or as votes cast except that such ballots shall be counted as votes cast in ratification of a constitutional amendment or a question for a constitutional convention."
SECTION 7. Section 11-152, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
"(b) In an election conducted by ranked-choice
voting, votes shall be counted as provided in [section 11-100.] sections
11-A to 11-E."
SECTION 8. Section 11-155, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§11-155 Certification of results of election. On receipt of certified tabulations from the election officials concerned, the chief election officer in a state election, or county clerk in a county election, shall compile, certify, and release the election results by district and precinct after the expiration of the time for bringing an election contest. The certification shall be based on a comparison and reconciliation of the following:
(1) The results of the canvass of ballots conducted pursuant to chapter 16;
(2) The audit of records and resultant overage and underage report;
(3) The audit results of the manual audit team;
(4) The results of any mandatory recount of votes conducted pursuant to section 11-158; and
(5) All logs, tally sheets, and other documents generated during the election and in the canvass of the election results.
A certificate of election or a certificate of
results declaring the results of the election as of election day shall be
issued pursuant to section 11-156; provided that in the event of an overage or
underage, a list of all precincts in which an overage or underage occurred
shall be attached to the certificate.
The candidates to be elected who receive the most votes in any election
district shall be declared to be elected; provided that candidates for offices
elected by ranked-choice voting shall be declared to be elected pursuant to [section
11-100.] sections 11-A to 11-E.
Unless otherwise provided, the term of office shall begin or end as of
the close of voter service centers on election day. The position on the question receiving the
appropriate majority of the votes cast shall be reflected in a certificate of
results issued pursuant to section 11-156."
SECTION 9. Section 11-100, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed.
["[§11-100] Ranked-choice voting; application; procedure. (a)
Any federal election not held on the date of a regularly scheduled
primary or general election and any special election for a vacant seat on a
county council shall be conducted by ranked-choice voting.
(b) Except as provided in subsections (c) and
(d), the following procedures shall be used to determine the winner of an
election conducted by ranked-choice voting:
(1) Tabulation of votes shall proceed in
rounds;
(2) In each round, the number of votes
for each continuing candidate shall be counted, with each continuing ballot
counting as one vote for its highest-ranked continuing candidate for that
round;
(3) Inactive ballots shall not be
counted for any continuing candidate; and
(4) The round shall end with one of two
potential outcomes:
(A) If there are two or fewer continuing
candidates, the candidate with the most votes shall be declared the winner of
the election; or
(B) If there are more than two
continuing candidates, the last-place candidate shall be defeated and a new
round shall begin.
(c) A tie under this section between candidates
for the most votes in the final round or a tie between last-place candidates in
any round shall be decided by lot, and the candidate chosen by lot shall be:
(1) Declared the winner if the tie is
between candidates for the most votes in the final round; or
(2) Defeated if the tie is between last-place
candidates in any round.
(d) The office of elections may modify a
ranked-choice voting ballot and tabulation; provided that:
(1) The number of allowable rankings
shall be limited to no fewer than six candidates; and
(2) Two or more candidates may be
defeated simultaneously by batch elimination in any round of tabulation.
(e) For the purposes of this section:
"Batch
elimination" means the simultaneous defeat of multiple candidates for whom
it is mathematically impossible to be elected.
"Continuing
ballot" means a ballot that is not an inactive ballot.
"Continuing
candidate" means a candidate who has not been defeated.
"Highest
continuing ranking" means the highest ranking on a voter's ballot for a
continuing candidate.
"Inactive
ballot" means a ballot that does not rank any continuing candidate,
contains an overvote at the highest continuing ranking, or contains two or more
sequential skipped rankings before its highest continuing ranking.
"Last-place
candidate" means the candidate with the fewest votes in a round of
ranked-choice voting tabulation.
"Mathematically
impossible to be elected", with respect to a candidate, means that:
(1) The candidate cannot be elected
because the candidate's vote total in a round of the ranked-choice voting
tabulation, plus all votes that could possibly be transferred to the candidate
in future rounds from candidates with an equal or lower number of votes, would
not be enough to surpass the candidate with the next-higher vote total in the
round; or
(2) The candidate has a lower vote total
than a candidate described in paragraph (1).
"Overvote"
means a circumstance in which a voter has ranked more than one candidate at the
same ranking on a ballot.
"Ranked-choice
voting" means the method of casting and tabulating votes in which voters
rank candidates in order of preference, tabulation proceeds in sequential
rounds in which last-place candidates are defeated, and the candidate with the
most votes in the final round is elected.
"Ranking"
means the number assigned on a ballot by a voter to a candidate to express the
voter's preference for that candidate, in which the lowest number is the
highest ranking, and the highest number is the lowest ranking.
"Round"
means an instance of the sequence of voting tabulation steps established in
subsection (b).
"Skipped
ranking" means a circumstance in which a voter has left a ranking blank
and ranks a candidate at a subsequent ranking.]"
SECTION 10. In codifying the new sections added by section 2 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.
SECTION 11. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 12. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2023; provided that this Act shall not apply to any election to be held before July 1, 2023; provided further that the chief election officer and each county clerk shall commence rulemaking pursuant to chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to effectuate the purposes of this Act immediately upon the effective date of this Act.
|
INTRODUCED BY: |
_____________________________ |
|
|
|
Report Title:
Elections; Ranked-Choice Voting
Description:
Establishes the ranked-choice voting method of tabulation for all elections for elected office to ensure that elected officials receive the majority of votes cast by the electorate.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
