Report Title:

Elections

Description:

Adds a requirement that nonprofit organizations involved in polling not be a political action committee or political in nature. Makes it unlawful to use, print, publish, or distribute any voter registration information from affidavits or lists. Prohibits a reciprocal beneficiary of a candidate from serving as a precinct official in the precinct where votes are cast for the candidate. Allows the watcher of a political party to be present at any time and to review the polling book but not to record confidential information. (HB1712 HD1)

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1712

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

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. Section 11-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) Notwithstanding chapters 103 and 103D, the chief election officer may contract with community organizations, school booster clubs, and nonprofit organizations for the provision and compensation of precinct officials and other election related personnel, services, and activities; provided that to be eligible to enter into a contract, the organization or club shall have received a tax clearance certificate from the department of taxation[.] and shall not be a political action committee or organized for a political purpose."

SECTION 2. Section 11-14, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§11-14 General county register; restrictions in use. (a) The clerk of each county shall register all the voters in the clerk's county in the general county register. The register shall contain the name and address of each voter unless [such] the voter's address is deemed confidential pursuant to section 11-14.5. Additional information required by section 11-15 may be included in the register at the discretion of the clerk. The voter's name shall be maintained alphabetically in the register and be capable of segregation by precinct and representative district. The clerk shall keep the original or photographic copy of the affidavit of registration required by section 11-15. The general county register shall be available for election or government purposes only in accordance with section 11-97.

(b) The affidavits filed under section 11-15 and the general county register may be copied, and the clerk may release voter lists and tabulating cards or computer tapes containing data furnished in the affidavit; provided that information furnished in the affidavits, register, voter lists, cards, or tapes, shall be copied or released for election or government purposes only in accordance with section 11-97.

(c) Voter registration information [which] that is collected and maintained by the clerk of each county may be transmitted to a central file for the purpose of correlating registration data to prevent or detect duplicate voter registrations and for the compilation of election reports.

(d) The clerk of each county shall maintain records by computer tape or otherwise of office of Hawaiian affairs registered voters to facilitate their identification as a separate category of voters.

(e) Unless authorized, it shall be unlawful for any person to use, print, publish, or distribute any voter registration information acquired directly or indirectly from the voter registration affidavits or any list prepared therefrom. Any person who is designated by the clerk to register voters and collect voter registration affidavits shall be advised of the provisions of this subsection. Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor."

SECTION 3. Section 11-72, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) In assigning the precinct officials, the following criteria shall be followed:

(1) The precinct officials shall be registered voters of the precinct in which they serve; but if qualified persons in the precinct or representative district are not readily available to serve, they may be chosen from without the precinct or representative district, or if qualified persons either in or without the precinct or representative district are not available to serve, the chief election officer may designate precinct officials who are not registered voters if the persons so designated are otherwise qualified and shall have attained the age of sixteen years on or before June 30, of the year of the election in which they are appointed to work[.];

(2) The chief election officer may designate more precinct officials than are needed in order to create a pool of qualified precinct officials who may be assigned to fill vacancies or to perform [such] their duties as needed in any precinct[.];

(3) No parent, spouse, reciprocal beneficiary, child, or sibling of a candidate shall be eligible to serve as a precinct official in any precinct in which votes may be cast for the candidate; nor shall any candidate for any elective office be eligible to serve as a precinct official in the same election in which the person is a candidate. No candidate who failed to be nominated in the primary or special primary election shall be eligible to serve as a precinct official in the general election next following[.]; and

(4) The chairperson of the precinct officials shall be of the same party as the governor and shall be the first named precinct official on the list prepared by the chief election officer. The remainder of the precinct officials shall be apportioned as follows:

(A) The total votes cast, except those cast for nonpartisan candidates, for all of the following offices [which] that were on the ballot in the next preceding general election shall be divided into the total votes cast for all the candidates of each party for such offices: president and vice-president, United States senator, United States representative, governor and lieutenant governor, state senator, and state representative[.];

(B) In the event that a party's proportion of votes cast exceeds fifty per cent, its share shall be one-half of the precinct officials. The remaining one-half shall be divided among the remaining parties in proportion to their respective total of votes cast for the offices set forth in subparagraph (A)[.];

(C) In the case of the above division resulting in parties having fractional positions a whole position shall go to the party with the larger number of votes cast[.]; and

(D) Newly qualified parties may be assigned up to ten per cent of the total positions available at the discretion of the chief election officer."

SECTION 4. Section 11-77, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By amending subsection (a) to read:

"(a) Each qualified political party shall be entitled to appoint no more than one watcher who may be present at any time in each precinct and absentee polling place in which the candidates of [such] that political party are on the ballot. Each party shall submit its list of watchers not later than 4:30 p.m. on the tenth day prior to any election to the chief election officer or to the clerk in county elections. All watchers shall serve without expense to the State or county. All watchers so appointed shall be registered voters. No person shall serve as a watcher who could not qualify to serve as a precinct official under section 11-72(3)."

2. By amending subsection (c) to read:

"(c) All watchers for precincts shall be permitted to observe the conduct of the election in the precinct. The watchers may remain in the precinct as long as the precinct is in operation subject to section 19-6. Watchers may review the polling book but may not record confidential information, including social security numbers and dates of birth."

SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2020.