Bill Text: HI HB2408 | 2014 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Elections; Ballot; Arrangement of Names
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-03-06 - Referred to JDL. [HB2408 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2014-HB2408-Amended.html
|
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
2408 |
|
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014 |
H.D. 1 |
|
|
STATE OF HAWAII |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO ELECTIONS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the order of the placement of candidates' names on a ballot can influence a voter's decision. It has been documented that candidates who are listed at the top of the ballot are at an advantage and receive, on average, two per cent more votes than if they had been listed later on the ballot.
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to improve the elections process by arranging candidates' names on a ballot in alphabetical order commencing with a randomly–drawn letter.
SECTION 2. Section 11-115, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§11-115 Arrangement of names on the
ballot. (a) The names of the candidates shall be placed upon the ballot
for their respective offices in alphabetical order [except:];
provided that:
(1) Prior to each election cycle, the chief election officer shall select a letter of the alphabet by lot; and
(2) For primary, general, and special elections during each election cycle, candidates whose last names begin with the letter selected pursuant to paragraph (1) shall appear first on the ballot in alphabetical order by last name. The names of the other candidates shall follow in alphabetical order by last name, beginning with the letter that follows the letter selected pursuant to subsection (1), and continuing to the letter Z, then returning to the letter A.
(b) In addition to the requirements of subsection (a), arrangement of candidate names on a ballot shall be:
(1) As provided in section 11-118;
(2) [For] Subject to the limitations of
the voting system in use; and
(3) [For] In the case of the candidates
for vice president and lieutenant governor in the general election [whose],
the names of those candidates shall be placed immediately below the
name of the candidate for president or governor of the same political party.
[(b)] (c) In elections using the
paper ballot or electronic voting systems where the names of the candidates are
printed and the voter records the voter's vote on the face of the ballot, the
following format shall be used: A horizontal line shall be ruled between each
candidate's name and the next name, except between the names of presidential
and vice presidential candidates and candidates for governor and lieutenant
governor of the same political party in the general election. In such case the
horizontal line shall follow the name of the candidates for vice president and
lieutenant governor of the same political party, thereby grouping the
candidates for president and vice president and governor and lieutenant
governor of the same political party within the same pair of horizontal lines.
[(c)] (d) Immediately to the left
of (before) or to the right of (after) the candidate name or names, according
to the requirements of the voting system, two vertical lines shall be ruled, so
that in conjunction with the horizontal lines, a box shall be formed to the
left of or to the right of the name and its equivalent, if any.
[(d)] (e) In case of the
candidates for president and vice president and governor and lieutenant
governor of the same political party, only one box shall be formed opposite
their set of names. The boxes shall be of sufficient size to give ample room
in which to designate the choice of the voter in the manner prescribed for the
voting system in use. All of the names upon a ballot shall be placed at a
uniform distance from the left edge and close thereto, and shall be of uniform
size and print subject to section 11-119."
SECTION 3. The chief election officer shall establish procedures to implement the purpose of this Act, and provide appropriate explanation to voters regarding the arrangement of candidates' names on the ballot.
SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval; provided that if it is not enacted by June 3, 2014, it shall take effect on November 5, 2014.
Report Title:
Elections; Ballot; Arrangement of Names
Description:
Requires the arrangement of candidate names on ballots in alphabetical order by last name, beginning with a letter randomly selected by the Chief Election Officer. (HB2408 HD1)
The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
