HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 1104.007 2004-2006
Murashige, Laura
From: Tom Walker [trwelect@hawaii.rr.com]
Sent: Thursday, October 12, 2006 8:18 AM
To: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us
Subject: Fw: Resolution 474-06, introduced by Ms. Isbell
Dear Mayor Kim:
Although I'm sure you have received many copies of Mr. Blann's letter which follows,
please be assured it expresses our feelings more eloquently than we could have expressed
them ourselves. Therefore, also please be assured that we are appalled at the audacity of
your administration in funding the Kuhio registration and voting location prior to the
primary and allowing it to continue prior to the general election. Such flagrant bias is
simply beyond belief; it goes so much further beyond previous favoritism shown to East
Hawaii and concerns such a basic, sacred right of all American citizens that the action is
absolutely unbelievable.
You and your administration have certainly disgraced this island.
Alice Walker, Kailua-Kona
Original Message
From: "blann" <blann@verizon.net>
To: <blann@gte.net>
Sent: Tuesday, October 10, 2006 7:52 PM
Subject: Fw: Resolution 474-06, introduced by Ms. Isbell
> From: "blann" <blann@verizon.net>
> To: <counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us>
> Cc: "Mayor Harry Kim" <cohmayor@co.hawaii.hi.us>
> Sent: Tuesday, October 10, 2006 7:48 PM
> Subject: Resolution 474-06, introduced by Ms. Isbell
>
Aloha County Council,
One of the things the USA prides itself on is the concept of the free
and fair election . I was therefore very unhappy to find that Hawaii
County has the elections office with 12 full time Mall employees in a
$103,000/annum
high visibility retail location with stated purpose of registering voters
and increasing
absentee voting in Hilo, but with similar programs nowhere else in the
county.
Our tax dollars are being used solely to enhance the voting power of
Hilo vs. the
rest of the county, rather than as part of a county wide voter
enhancement program.
I estimate the salaries and overhead at around $1,000,000/ annum.
If in the future, a Council person from Hilo were to run for Mayor, the
question
could be raised as to whether he engineered this voter registration
program for personal
benefit. Let us not put the County Government in the awkward position of
anyone raising
such questions.
We do note that in the primary election just passed, the Kuhio location
had seven
times the absentee vote of the average of the other 4 polls; a 600%
increase! Clearly f I O ~I
11 1
this is not a fair election, and renewal of this lease will make res~C,,,,,• No.
1 Ref. To:Pres
Ref. Date ~ He
even more uneven,
possibly subjecting the county government to complaints to the US Dept.
Justice under the
2002 Help America Vote Act, and or the state Ethics Commission.
I therefore request that the Council consider one of two options. The
Kuhio Mall space
has 12 full time employees, occupies 5,000 sq. ft., and is open 40 hours
/week, except
during absentee voting when it opens 48 hours (equalled nowhere else in
the county).
I propose amending the Resolution to include 100 sq. ft. kiosks (10 foot
square) in Kona
at Costco,Walmart, Lanihou center, and Keauhou Plaza, to be staffed by
temporary
employees or volunteers provided by the County, 40 hours / week, 48
hours/ week
during walk-in voting. Other districts should be consulted as to what
they feel would
help level the playing field to give a more nearly fair election, and
these requests should be
included in the amended resolution. It is not clear to me why Council is
in such a rush to
pass this resolution, which could lead to serious embarassment to the
County. It will, in
present form, surely increase the deep cynicism with which many of our
citizens view
the electoral process in our county- perhaps one reason for record low
voter turnouts.
Should the argument be made that the amendments I suggest would be too
costly, even
though the cost would be but a fraction of the Kuhio Mall Project
expenses, I would
offer a second option which would save the county money. Move the
Elections Office
to lower cost office space not in a commercial retail center, and
comparable to other
absentee locations. During absentee voting, as on election day, let all
polls be open the
same hours. In this way, treat all citizens equally in access to voting-
as is required
under federal law.
Thank you for your consideration. Please remember Confucius, who said,"
» I am never
» in a hurry for the wrong answer".
Respectfully,
» Marshall Blann
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