RES 173 Draft 01 2010-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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WHEREAS, Vote By Mail improves voter roll accuracy because ballots mailed to intended recipients who no longer receive mail at their registered address will not have their ballot forwarded. The ballot will be returned to the county office of elections where the office of elections can contact the voter or the voter rolls can then be purged of inaccurate mail listings; and WHEREAS, Vote By Mail improves uniformity because there is centralized supervision of ballot processing in the county office of elections, instead of in dispersed polling places. This maintains uniformity and strict compliance with law; and WHEREAS, Vote By Mail promotes voter confidence by providing a paper trail where the accuracy and fairness of election results are provable, and the ballots can be recounted, by hand if necessary, to prove to voters that each and every vote was properly counted; and WHEREAS, Vote By Mail may have an overall savings of up to one-third of the cost of a regular election due to the decrease in cost of training and employment of precinct officials to staff all of the precinct locations, and a slight increase in cost to hire additional temporary personnel to staff the counting centers; and WHEREAS, Vote By Mail increases voter participation in small local elections. Voter turnout increases when voters are provided with an easy and convenient way to vote; and WHEREAS, "Get Out the Vote" activities may be conducted several weeks prior to the election and voters are reminded to mail their ballot well ahead of the election deadline; and WHEREAS, Vote By Mail creates a significant gain in informed voting because voters can do their research and think about choices while sitting at home with their Voters' Pamphlet and any other information that they want to use to make reasoned decisions; and BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII that it urges the Hawaii State Association of Counties to request that the State Legislature create a Vote By Mail pilot program for all federal, state, and county primary, general, and special elections based on the State of Oregon Vote By Mail program as described in Exhibit C. This pilot program shall be the exclusive method for casting ballots in the State of Hawaii. The pilot program begins with the 2012 Primary election and all other elections in the year 2012, all elections in 2014, and continuing through all elections including the General Election in 2016, if feasible, or if 2012 is too soon to begin the change, then as soon as possible thereafter. This pilot program provides three full election cycles in which to determine the advantages of Vote By Mail in the State of Hawaii; and 2