Bill Text: HI SR85 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Voter Participation Task Force

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-03-16 - (S) Referred to JDL. [SR85 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2012-SR85-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	85
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR TO CONVENE A Voter participation TASK FORCE on voter registration and voter turnout in hawaii.

 

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii's voter turnout percentage has significantly declined since statehood in 1959, when voter turnout stood at ninety-four percent of registered voters; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii presently ranks among the bottom of the fifty states in the percentage of registered voters who turn out to vote; and

 

     WHEREAS, voter turnout in Hawaii stood at thirty-seven percent in the 2008 primary election and sixty-six percent in the 2008 general election; and

 

     WHEREAS, voter turnout in Hawaii stood at forty-three percent in the 2010 primary election and fifty-six percent in the 2010 general election; and

 

     WHEREAS, voter participation is the hallmark of an effective democracy; and

 

     WHEREAS, diminishing voter participation rates mean that fewer people are involved in the selection of elected officials and this threatens to undermine the strength of a representative form of government; and

 

     WHEREAS, innovative efforts have been undertaken in other states to successfully reduce barriers to voting and encourage voter participation; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2012, that the Lieutenant Governor is requested to convene a voter participation task force to:

 

     (1)  Study voter participation rates in Hawaii, including voter turnout among registered voters and all eligible voters;

 

     (2)  Review existing laws and practices regarding voter registration in Hawaii, including requirements for community groups conducting voter registration drives, and identify barriers to voting;

 

     (3)  Analyze ways to improve Hawaii's voter registration and voter turnout, including voter modernization efforts to potentially improve voter participation including but not limited to election day registration, online registration, universal or automatic voter registration, voting by mail, voter registration drives, and shortening the thirty-day deadline for voter registration, and assess the feasibility of implementing those efforts in Hawaii; and

 

     (4)  Study best practices or innovations in other states that have resulted in improved voter participation and the feasibility of implementing those practices in Hawaii; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the voter participation task force include:

 

     (1)  One representative of the Office of Elections;

 

     (2)  One representative of each of the offices of the City Clerk for the City and County of Honolulu and the County Clerk for the County of Kauai, County of Maui, and County of Hawaii;

 

     (3)  One representative of the University of Hawaii political science or public administration department, to be selected by the President of the Senate;

 

     (4)  One representative of the University of Hawaii political science or public administration department, to be selected by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

 

     (5)  Two representatives, one to be selected by the President of the Senate and one to be selected by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, each from a separate nonpartisan public interest group that works on voting and elections issues; and

 

     (6)  Two members representing young eligible voters to be selected by the President of the Associated Students of the University of Hawaii; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all members of the task force shall be registered voters in the State of Hawaii; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Lieutenant Governor convene the first meeting of the task force no later than July 1, 2012; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force submit a preliminary report on its activities no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2013; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the voter participation task force report its findings and recommendations, including proposed legislation, if any, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2014; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the voter registration task force and the Lieutenant Governor be available to provide testimony to the Legislature on measures and for informational briefings; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the voter participation task force cease to exist on the day of the adjournment of the Regular Session of 2014; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Lieutenant Governor, Chief Election Officer, City Clerk of Honolulu, Kauai County Clerk, Maui County Clerk, Hawaii County Clerk, President of the University of Hawaii System, Chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Hawaii, Chair of the Department of Public Administration at the University of Hawaii, and President of the Associated Students of the University of Hawaii.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Voter Participation Task Force