1999-05-26 Charter Commission Minutes

Home

HAWAII COUNTY CHARTER COMMISSIONPage 12 of 42 of the articles but not in the other. Things like that. HERKES: Can I ask the -? RAY: Marni. HERKES: Our attorney that we’ve hired, how the -, to research how this conflicts with State law, because I think some of this we don’t get to choose. So I think it’s in the State law what -, how you do blank votes and how you identify yourself and, I mean -. When I work in the polling place, all that stuff comes from the State, it doesn’t come from County, so I’m confused as to what we can change and what we can’t change and why it’s in the Charter. Thank you. YUEN: I can -. HERKES: Okay. YUEN: Look at that, yeah. BESS: Well, Mr. Wurdeman is here. Perhaps you have researched that area. Not that Chris wouldn’t go ahead and research. Her question, her legal question. WURDEMAN: Why is it in the Charter? I don’t know why it’s in the Charter. BESS: Or the extent of the conflict with State law, if any. YUEN: Just speaking generally though, most of the -, most of the stuff that’s in the Charter is within the County’s right to control. For example, whether you count blank ballots or not on a Charter amendment or an initiative, the Charter -. No, I’m sorry. For Charter amendment, there is a State law that talks about when you count blank votes for a Charter amendment, but for an initiative or a referendum, the Charter can specify whether you count the blanks in reaching 50 percent plus one or not. Then there are State laws that cover the State law things. The things like how do you get to be a registered voter, where you vote, those sorts of things are in State law. The procedures that Richard is talking about, and I don’t off of the top of my head, know or remember why things were set up this way, but things like do you require 15 percent signatures, or if you want to make it tougher, you go to 30 percent signatures. The Charter has the -, that’s not spelled out in State law at all; that’s completely up to the Charter to tell you how the County wants to vote on its own initiatives and referenda. WURDEMAN: Yeah, I would agree with that. But what I was -, like in particular, 15 percent of the number of persons who voted in the County for the office of Mayor, that’s the present requirement if you want to get something on the ballot. So what’s voting for the office of Mayor, you know, is it putting -? It should be defined. I mean, you can define it anyway you want, but it’s presently not defined. HERKES: Registered to voted or voted. WURDEMAN: Yeah. YUEN: Well, this all -, just to jump in here, this all got a little bit trickier about, I guess it was a year and file://\\coh01\cohweb\council\charter_commission\minutes\minutes 5-26-99.html7/1/2011