House Committee on Finance (FIN) - chair: Marcus R. Oshiro, vice chair: Marilyn B. Lee

Friday, February 24, 2012, 12:00 p.m., Conf Rm 308

Testifier: Marian W. Wilkins, LWV Elections Committee Member

Click here to view HB1754 HD1

The League of Women Voters of Hawaii supports HB 1754 HD1 which would allow the Office of Elections to facilitate voting for small populations of residents whose voting districts have been redrawn due to the latest census and redistricting. Since polling places normally have ballots that list candidates that are to be elected from that specific area and since the numbers of voters who fall into each special category would be small, staffing and furnishing all the accoutrements for these polls would be burdensome and expensive. It therefore seems reasonable to send ballots to the voters involved and have them returned by mail. The method would be the same as absentee voting. It is a tried and true method and would simplify the voting in these areas for afl concerned. The Office of Elections successfully conducted an entire special election by mail for the First Congressional district on short notice (in May, 2010). We are confident that given the circumstances described in this bill, voting by mail is the best solution. Thank you for your consideration.