Report Title:

Vote by Mail Elections

Description:

Allows special elections not held concurrently with any regular election to be conducted by mail.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1007

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

 

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 purpose of this Act is to allow for voting by mail in any special election not conducted in conjunction with a regularly scheduled primary or general election. It is the intent of this Act to authorize the administration of special elections entirely by mail in a manner consistent with existing absentee voting laws and procedures insofar as practicable.

SECTION 2. Chapter 11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new part to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"Part . Special elections by mail

§11-A Authorization to conduct all mail special elections. At the discretion of the chief election officer or clerk, in the case of county elections, any special election not conducted in conjunction with a regularly scheduled primary or general election may be conducted entirely by mail ballot. Notice of intent to conduct an election entirely by mail shall be provided via proclamation pursuant to section 11-91. The proclamation shall include at a minimum, the following information:

(1) Locations where voted ballots may be deposited between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on the day of the election;

(2) Other dates and times that the locations will be open; and

(3) Notice that polling places will not be operated on election day.

§11-B Consistency with absentee voting laws. Insofar as practicable, the content of mail election balloting materials and processing of mail ballots shall be in a form and manner similar to processing of absentee ballots.

§11-C Deadline for mailing ballots. As soon as practicable, but not later than fourteen days before an election, the chief election officer or clerk, in the case of county elections, shall mail a vote-by-mail ballot packet to the residence or mailing address of each registered voter; provided that a ballot packet shall not be mailed to any voter whose record includes a notation of previously returned election mail.

§11-D Contents of mail ballot packet. The ballot packet shall contain instructions to detail the process that must be followed to properly cast a ballot. Instructions shall:

(1) Advise the voter that the election is to be conducted entirely by mail and the amount of postage required on the return envelope;

(2) List the location where the voter may obtain a replacement ballot if the original ballot is spoiled, lost, or destroyed;

(3) List the locations, dates, and times where the voter may deposit the ballot before election day in the event that the voter does not wish to mail the ballot or pay for postage; and

(4) Advise the voter that the voted ballot must be received by election officials no later than 6:00 p.m. on election day in order to be counted.

§11-E Deadline for written request for a replacement ballot. The office of the respective clerk shall be designated as the location to obtain a replacement ballot. Written requests for a replacement ballot must be received at least seven days before an election. Any voter who requests a replacement ballot after the seventh day before an election shall make the request in person. Any voter who requests a replacement ballot shall sign a sworn statement in substantially the following form:

"I, ________________, do hereby request a replacement ballot for the mail ballot election to be held on __________, in ___________ county, Hawaii, for the following reason:

[ ] I did not receive the ballot mailed to me; or

[ ] The ballot mailed to me has been damaged, lost, spoiled, or destroyed.

I hereby certify, under penalty of perjury, that the above information is true and correct, and that I understand that attempting to vote fraudulently is a violation of Hawaii election law.

Signature of voter

Address of voter"

§11-F Locations for receiving voted mail ballots. Ballots may be deposited at the office of the respective clerk at any time during normal business hours before the day of the election and on election day. The chief election officer or clerk may designate other sites as necessary.

§11-G Return of voted mail ballots. Any voted ballot in the custody of the clerk, other than those that have been returned as spoiled, shall be considered cast and may not be recast for any reason. The chief election officer or clerk shall verify signatures on the return envelope affirmation with existing source documents or databases. If a voter fails to sign the affirmation statement on the return envelope, the chief election officer or clerk shall follow procedures for invalidating the ballot provided in section 15-9. For elections encompassing countywide jurisdictions, the chief election officer or clerk may verify a sampling of voter signatures to ascertain the validity of the signatures.

§11-H Inapplicability of certain sections. For purposes of vote by mail elections, sections 11-21(c), 11-25(b), 15-6.5, and 15-7 shall not apply.

§11-I Rules. The chief election officer shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to effectuate this part."

SECTION 3. 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 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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