Senate Committee on Judiciary and Labor (JDL) - chair: Clayton Hee, vice chair: Maile S.L. Shimabukuro

Thursday, March 28, 2013, 10:30 A.M Rm: 016

Testifier: Marian W. Wilkins, LWV Legislative Committee Member

Click here to view HB1027, HD2

The League of Women Voters of Hawaii strongly supports HB1027, HD2. The bill prohibits employers, unions, and candidates or their agents from assisting voters with completing ballots, both at polling places and in absentee voting. It is especially important for absentee voting, adding additional safeguards to preserve the integrity of the ballot used in absentee voting and elections by mail, to insure fairness to all voters, and to minimize the opportunity for fraud. It is the League of Women Voters of Hawaii’s hope that our State moves to more modern elections administration in the future, including careful consideration of a vote-by-mail program statewide. Since we already have absentee voting and this is an increasingly popular choice for voters, the precautions described in this measure are timely. And since many voters in Hawaii are already using absentee ballots and we have already had at least one statewide special election by mail, we support a July 1, 2013 effective date instead of July 1, 2030. The League is pleased that the voters’ affirmation that the ballot was completed without influence from others belongs on the return envelope and not on the ballot itself, and this change was made in the HD1 version of the bill. We concur with the penalties for violation of this measure. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.