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COUNTY OF HAWAII <br />STATE OF HAWAII <br />RESOLUTION NO. 29 09 <br />( DRAFT 2 ) <br />A RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII <br />TO ENACT A BILL TO ESTABLISH A PILOT PROGRAM FOR VOTE BY MAIL FOR <br />ALL FEDERAL, STATE, AND COUNTY PRIMARY, GENERAL, AND SPECIAL <br />ELECTIONS IN THE COUNTY OF HAWAII, AND TO MAKE AN APPROPRIATION <br />FOR THIS PILOT PROGRAM. <br />WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii has historically one of the lowest voter turnouts in the <br />country, and additionally, in 2006, the County of Hawaii had 173, 057 residents and 131,203 <br />residents who were 18 -years -of -age or older (76% of the population), but only 42.6% of the <br />registered voters voted; and <br />WHEREAS, in Hawaii County, the percentage of voters in the Primary Election <br />consistently dropped from a high of 88.6% in 1959 to 41.8% in 2008, and the percentage of <br />voters for the General Election consistently dropped from a high of 94.3% in 1959 to 67.7% in <br />2008 with the lowest year being 2006 at 53.2%. In 2008, Hawaii County had 99,337 registered <br />voters, but only 67,258 actually voted (67.7%) in the General Election which was also a <br />presidential election year; and <br />WHEREAS, absentee ballots (combination of mail -in and walk-in) in Hawaii County <br />Primary Elections have increased from 1988 (9.8%) through 2008 (40.2%). Absentee ballots in <br />Hawaii County General Elections have increased from 9.3% in 1988 to 43.0% in 2008; and <br />WHEREAS, Oregon has had Vote By Mail elections since 1998. The 2004 Oregon <br />election was one of the most contentious and closely scrutinized elections in Oregon history, and <br />Oregon had the third highest voter turnout in the nation at 86.48% of registered voters. Of the <br />five states with the highest voter turnout in 2004, Oregon was the only state without same-day <br />voter registration. In 2008, Oregon achieved 85.7% voter turnout; and <br />WHEREAS, Vote By Mail maximizes voter convenience because voters do not have to <br />stand in lines at the polls, take time off from work, drive in bad weather to precincts, wait for <br />their turn at a limited number of polling booths, or have an illness or personal emergency on <br />Election Day that prevents them from voting; and <br />WHEREAS, fraud can be protected against by utilizing the Vote By Mail program used <br />in Oregon, to which every signature is verified to ensure that that voter is who they claim to be; <br />and <br />