September 1987

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February 1988

From the President (Anne Lee) Primary Elections in Hawaii? Vacancy Study People's Water Conference Legislative Action '88 Legislative Help Wanted! League Profile: Marian Wilkins Legislative Access for Neighbor Islanders (Debbie Kimball) Action for Education (Libby Oshiyama) LWV Continues Action and Leadership in Juvenile Justice Issues (Libby Oshiyama) Safety on Tap (Kiyoko Nitz) Wanted: Oahu Representative for Comparable Worth (Debbie Kimball) When You See This Symbol Debates Conference Gets Gannett Grant (Anne Lee) Update: Corporate Drive Shelter Aid: Help for Abused Spouses (Tisha Hickson)

Primary Elections in Hawaii? Hot off the press! PRIMARY ELECTIONS IN HAWAII?: Board of Education? Presidential Primary? published by the LWV of Hawaii. As a result of a study adopted at Convention '87, Evelyn Bender and Marion Wilkins researched and wrote this Facts and Issues focusing on whether Hawaii should have a primary election for the non-partisan Board of Education and whether we should have a presidential primary. Local Leagues were given enough copies of the publication to distribute to all members. If you haven't received your copy yet, it will be coming soon. Watch your local League Voter for information on membership agreement on these interesting topics. The State Board has set February 1 as the deadline for receiving membership agreement reports from the local Leagues. This gives each League sufficient time to schedule membership agreement and will still give us the opportunity to lobby at the Legislature .should a position or positions be reached. Board of Education In recent years, Hawaii's voters have found Board of Education elections more and more confusing. One contributing factor is the abundance of candidates running for seats on the BOE; in the 1986 general election there were 56 candidates for 6 vacancies. It is almost impossible to get to know the individual candidates, their qualifications, and, more importantly, their views on education. The main concern of this study is whether holding a non-partisan primary election (estimated to cost $100,000) prior to the general election would ease this problem. Consensus Question: Should there be a non-partisan primary election for the Board of Education?   Presidential Primary In Hawaii and the other 14-states that do not have presidential primaries, the political parties directly determine the nominees. Only card-carrying members of a party can participate in the caucus process. This is done by selecting delegates who will represent the party at its national convention. Party rules on delegate selection differ and are rather complex. They are also subject to change from year to year. The state parties have some flexibility in their rules, but they are subject to national party guidelines. If a presidential primary is held in Hawaii, the political parties would still choose the delegates to the national conventions. The only difference would be that the popular vote would instruct the delegates for whom to vote, but that instruction would almost certainly be binding for the first vote only. PRIMARY ELECTIONS IN HAWAII? provides information that League members will need to have in order to evaluate the process of choosing a candidate in Hawaii, the timing of a primary, as well as the cost and mechanics of such a primary. Consensus Questions: 1. Should Hawaii have a Presidential Primary? 2. Would you support a Presidential Primary if it were conducted by mail?

September 1987

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February 1988