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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0810.002 2010-2012K. Angel Pilago Vice Chair District 8 — North Kona MEMORANDUM Phone No.: (808) 323 -4280 Fax No.: (808) 329 -4786 E -Mail: apilago @co.hawaii.hi.us HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL County of Hawai `i West Hawai 'i Civic Center Building A - Council 74 -5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway Kailua -Kona, Hawai `i 96740 COUNTY CLERK COUNTY OF HAWAII gIVED Time // "PT By 1/10 Date DATE: August 16, 2012 TO: Dominic Yagong, Council Chair, and Council Member FROM: K. Angel Pilago, Vice Chair District 8 SUBJECT: County of Hawaii Office of Elections Please find attached correspondence relating to the August 20, 2012 Special Meeting Agenda. 1) Letter to Governor Abercrombie dated August 14, 2012 (1 page) 2) Letter to Attorney General Louie dated August 13, 2012 and response letter dated August 14, 2012 (2 pages) 3) Letter to Chief Election Officer Nago dated August 13, 2012 and response letter dated August 15, 2012 with the Office of Elections Report (18 pages) Thank you. KAP /jks Encl. Xc: Laura Murashige Comm._No ? /o• Z. Ref. Tojresented un u / Ref. Date.AUi;_2 9 2012 J, Hawai `i County Is An Equal Opportunity Provider And Employer K. ANGEL PILAGO Council Vice -Chair Council District 8 — North Kona HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL County of Hawai`i West Hawai`i Civic Center, Bldg. A 74 -5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy. Kailua -Kona, Hawai'i 96740 August 14, 2012 Honorable Neil Abercrombie, Governor State of Hawai`i Hawai`i State Capitol 415 South Beretania Street Honolulu, HI 96813 Dear Honorable Governor Abercrombie: Phone: (808) 323 -4280 Fax: (808) 329 -4786 Email: apilago @co.hawaii.hi.us To assure that the November 6, 2012 Hawai`i County General Election is conducted legally and without question, I request that you authorize intervention and take over of the operations and management of Hawai` i County Elections. Public concerns, precinct issues, and low voter confidence in the August 11, 2012 Primary Election held in Hawai`i County, warrants immediate action by the State. Sincerely, K. Angel Pilago KAP /ke cc: Dominic Yagong, Chair, Hawai`i County Council Councilmember Pete Hoffmann Councilmember Fred Blas Councilmember Brenda Ford Councilmember Donald Ikeda Councilmember Dennis "Fresh" Onishi Councilmember Brittany Smart Councilmember J Yoshimoto Billy Kenoi, Mayor, Hawaii County Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr., Mayor, Kauai County Alan M. Arakawa, Mayor, Maui County Peter B. Carlisle, Mayor, City & County of Honolulu David M. Louie, Attorney General, State of Hawaii Scott Nago, Chief Elections Officer Jay Furfaro, Chair, Kauai County Council Ernest Martin, Chair, City & County of Honolulu Serving the Interests of the People of Our Island Hawaii County Is an Equal Opportunity Provider And Employer Danny Mateo, Chair, Maui County Council Jamae K.K. Kawauchi, Hawai`i County Clerk Bernice K.N. Mau, City Clerk Peter A. Nakamura, Kauai County Clerk Jeffrey T. Kuwada, Maui County Clerk Senator Josh Green Senator Gilbert Kahele Senator Malama Solomon Representative Jerry L. Chang Representative Denny Coffman Representative Cindy Evans Representative Faye P. Hanohano Representative Robert N. Herkes Representative Mark M. Nakashima Representative Clift Tsuji K. ANGEL PILA GO Council Vice -Chair Council District 8 — North Kona August 13, 2012 HAWAI `I COUNTY COUNCIL County ofHawai`i West Hawai `i Civic Center, Bldg. A 74 -5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy. Kailua -Kona, Hawai'i 96740 Attorney General David M. Louie Department of the Attorney General 425 Queen Street Honolulu, HI 96813 Dear Mr. Louie, Phone: (808) 323 -4280 Fax: (808) 329 -4786 Email: apilago @co.hawaii.hi.us Due to public concerns, precinct issues, and low voter confidence in the recent Primary Election held in Hawai`i County on August 11, 2012, I request an inquiry by your office into the County of Hawai`i Election Division. This request is made to assure that the November 6, 2012 Hawai`i County General Election is both legal and without question. Sincerely, K. Angel Pilago Serving the Interests of the People of Our Island Hawai `i County Is an Equal Opportunity Provider And Employer NEIL ABERCROMBIE GOVERNOR STATE OF HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 425 QUEEN STREET HONOLULU, HAWAII 96813 TELEPHONE NO.: (808) 586 -0618 August 14, 2012 The Honorable K. Angel Pilago Council Vice -Chair Hawai`i County Council West Hawai`i Civic Center, Bldg 4 74 -5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy. Kailua -Kona, Hawaii 96740 Dear Vice -Chair Pilago: DAVID M. LOUIE ATTORNEY GENERAL RUSSELL A. SUZUKI FIRST DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL This letter responds to your letter dated August 13, 2012 in which you ask that the Department of the Attorney General conduct an inquiry into the County of Hawaii Election Division. I respectfully decline your request. At this point in time I have no evidence of violations of state laws at the primary election that would form a basis for an investigation by my office. The management and performance of the County Clerk and the Hawaii Election Division is under the purview of the Hawaii County Council and any legal challenges to the primary election results will be resolved through the judicial process. I understand that the County Council will be noticing a meeting next week to review the handling of the primary election. If you have specific evidence to believe that state laws have been violated, you should refer the matter to the County Prosecutor, or my office, and request an investigation. Very truly yours, David . Louie Attorney General c: Katherine Garson, Esq. 472822 1.DOC K. ANGEL PILAGO Council Vice -Chair Council District 8 — North Kona August 13, 2012 Scott Nago Chief Election Officer State of Hawaii Office of Elections 802 Lehua Avenue Pearl City, Hawaii 96782 Dear Mr. Nago, HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL County of Hawai`i West Hawai`i Civic Center, Bldg. A 74 -5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy. Kailua -Kona, Hawai'i 96740 Phone: (808) 323 -4280 Fax: (808) 329 -4786 Email: apilago @co.hawaii.hi.us Due to public concerns, precinct issues, and diminished voter confidence regarding the August 11, 2012 Primary Election held in Hawai`i County, I request an inquiry by your office into the County of Hawai`i Elections Division regarding these matters. This request is made to assure our citizens that the November 6, 2012 Hawai`i County General Election is both legal and without question. Sincerely, 1 K. Angel Pilago KAP /ke cc: David M. Louie, Attorney General Serving the Interests of the People of Our Island Hawaiei County Is an Equal Opportunity Provider And Employer SCOTT T. NAGO CHIEF ELECTION OFFICER VIA U.S. MAIL & EMAIL STATE OF HAWAII OFFICE OF ELECTIONS 802 LEHUA AVENUE PEARL CITY, HAWAII 96782 www.hawaii. gov /elleclions August 15, 2012 The Honorable K. Angel Pilago Hawaii County Council, District 8 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Dear Council Member Pilago: The Office of Elections has received numerous requests to investigate what transpired during the 2012 Primary Election in the County of Hawaii from public officials, such as yourself, candidates, and members of the public. In order to best address those requests, we believed it appropriate to issue a report for public dissemination. Attached is a copy of the report for your information. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 1- 800 -422- VOTE (8683). Very truly yours, ,frizs<i9 SCOTT T. NAGO Chief Election Officer STN:AHS:cr 0E- 232 -12 Enclosures c: Jamae Kawauchi, Clerk of the County of Hawaii David Louie, Attorney General Hawaii State Elections Commission OFFICE OF ELECTIONS REPORT REGARDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2012 PRIMARY ELECTION BY THE CLERK OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII The Office of Elections has received numerous requests to investigate what transpired during the 2012 Primary Election in the County of Hawaii from public officials, candidates, and members of the public. In order to best address those requests, we believed it appropriate to issue the following report for public dissemination. In order to understand what occurred in the County of Hawaii, it necessary to first reiterate, as we have told people in the past, the different roles and responsibilities of the State and the counties when it comes to elections. As provided for in the Hawaii State Constitution, my duties include the supervision of state elections. Article IV, Section 3. In regards to county elections those are within the purview of each county. As provided for in the County of Hawaii's charter, "[t]he council shall appoint the county clerk" and the county clerk shall "[c]onduct all elections held within the county." Section 3 -6(b). The County of Hawaii, similar to the other counties, provides in its charter that its elections will be held in conjunction with the Primary and General Election. Section 13- 27. As such, the Office of Elections attempts to work in coordination with the county clerks in running our combined elections, while recognizing the autonomy of each county. Article VIII, Section 2 (Local Self- Government; Charter). In county only elections, the county is responsible for all aspects of an election ranging from voter registration, polling places, absentee voting, operation of the voting system, counting of the ballots and reporting of the results. Similarly in state elections, the State is responsible for all aspects of the elections. HRS §§ 11 -182 and 11 -183. In combined state /county elections, the counties are responsible for voter registration and absentee voting. HRS §§ 11 -11 and 15 -4. Those responsibilities are always the statutory province of the counties. Additionally, the counties are responsible for storage of election materials. The State in combined elections is responsible for operating election day polling places and in operating the voting system including the counting of ballots and reporting of results. There are various other subsidiary responsibilities that the counties and the State split in an equitable manner. HRS § 11- 184. Having said that, given that the Office of Elections is based on Oahu, the State is authorized under HRS § 11 -2 to "delegate responsibilities in state elections within a county to the clerk of that county." In recognition of the fact that state elections includes not only state contests but county contests, the State and counties split the costs of any overtime in regards to poll worker recruitment and for county election officials who work on election day and at other times, such as the logic and accuracy testing of the voting system. This cooperative relationship between the counties and the State has always worked to the benefit of the voters. It is our assumption that the county clerks factor this into justifying their personnel descriptions for their civil service positions, staffing allocations, and in requesting budget appropriations from their county councils for elections. The County of Hawaii has never refused this delegation of responsibility or the compensation from the State and it has always said it was up to the task, even when it terminated its civil service election administrator in an election year. Instead, at all times, the County Clerk has contended that she was up to the task and that there were no problems. The State in reviewing the matter has spoken to the County Clerk several times and corresponded with her about the county's readiness for the elections. At all times, the County Clerk had said she was prepared. The Hawaii State Elections Commission dedicated a portion of its May 30, 2012 meeting to discuss with the county clerk whether she was prepared for the 2012 elections, given correspondence it had received from Councilmember Dennis Onishi. The County Clerk insisted that everything was under control. Attached is a copy of the draft minutes from that meeting. During the meeting, the Elections Commission sought for the County Council to provide additional assurances that the elections would be successful in the County of Hawaii. Commissioner Orikasa asked Councilman Onishi how the Clerk is selected and Onishi responded that Clerk is appointed by the Council Chair. Commissioner Orikasa then asked what opportunities are available for the Council to get involved with getting assurances that the elections will be successful. Councilman Onishi responded that he could make a request to the Council Chair that the elections topic be placed on the agenda for the next Council meeting. He also explained that since the election time frame is so short, he wrote to the OE and the Elections Commission to see if he could get the status on the Hawaii County elections. Commissioner Orikasa then suggested that Councilman Onishi go ahead and try to have the elections topic placed on the agenda. Onishi said that he would ask the Chair to place the topic on the next meetings agenda. Councilman Onishi also stated that his intent for going to the OE and the Elections Commission was to protect the people of Hawaii County and make sure that they have a fair and open election. * ** Chair Marston expressed to Councilman Onishi that he hopes he will report back to the Council the concerns that the Commission has 2 regarding elections. He also wanted to comment that the elections are a cooperative effort that involves all parties and he also encourages County Clerk Kawauchi to get whatever resources necessary to succeed in this election. Councilman Onishi suggested that if available, the Commissioners could attend the next Council meeting. Commissioners Okazaki and Masunaga said that they would be willing to attend the meeting if elections were placed on the agenda. Councilman Onishi also expressed that he is appreciative that this issue was placed on this Commission meeting agenda for discussion. Elections Commission Meeting Minutes (Draft) at pages 7 and 8. Ultimately, it is our understanding that the County Council never elected to put the issue on their agenda. As such, we had to continue to legally rely on the representations of its county clerk who by charter "[c]onduct all elections held within the county." Section 3 -6(b). In other words, it is our understanding that no one other than the County Clerk, or perhaps the County Council that appoints her, has legal authority to speak on behalf of the County of Hawaii in regards to election matters. As we got closer to the Primary Election, the Clerk's issue regarding communicating in a timely and detailed manner to the Office of Elections and the other county clerks reached a critical point when the County Clerk failed to communicate the circumstances surrounding her closure of her Hilo office on July 23, 2012. We noted to her, in part the following, We are fielding calls as to what is going in your county, as well as, when your absentee ballots are going to be mailed out. Your closure on July 23, 2012, and your failure to thoroughly communicate to the rest of the election community and the media as to the reasons for the closure, has unnecessarily lead to significant speculation in the public about the integrity of our elections only a few weeks before the August 11, 2012, Primary Election. This is simply unacceptable on the part of a fellow election administrator. The public relies on us to be assured that their elections are safe and secure. Excerpt of Letter to County Clerk (July 25, 2012). Ultimately, the County Clerk explained that her "audit" had found some duplicate voter registrations and that possibly a handful of voters may have voted twice. The County Clerk's lack of familiarity with voter registration and absentee voting records, which are the jurisdiction of the county clerks, apparently lead to her inability to definitively say what she had found. In debriefing with her and the other county clerks on July 31, 2012, it was our hope that the Clerk of the County of Hawaii had come to the realization that 3 she needed to communicate with the Office of Elections and the other county clerks, and that she would benefit from the institutional knowledge and election administration experience of these election administrators. As we approached the Primary Election, on August 11, 2012, despite the representations by the County Clerk that everything was fine, I felt it important to send one of my veteran section heads to help trouble shoot any problems that might occur, as we had a new counting center manager. Additionally, I requested the Department of the Attorney General to assign a deputy attorney general to the Board of Registration that would be based in the County of Hawaii for the election. What my staff witnessed was poor planning, implementation, and leadership by the County Clerk. Despite this, the hard working staff and volunteers did their best under the circumstances and were able to get through the election. Essentially, the County Clerk on election day is supposed to be like a field general with a plan of attack, who acts confidently, and has the support of his or her troops. The County Clerk was in no way, shape, or form that type of leader. For example, the issue regarding the late opening of polls. While irregularities may happen on election day, as we are dealing with hundreds of stipended volunteers, and many moving parts, the County Clerk lacked the ability to definitively articulate the nature of the problem to the Office of Elections or the public. This resulted in the need for the Governor to conduct triage, in the form of an emergency proclamation, extending polling place hours, based on the limited information that she provided the Attorney General. Specifically, the County Clerk at no specific time had a handle on how many polling places out of the forty in the county opened late. The election proclamation issued by the Governor refers to over half of the polling places in the County of Hawaii had not opened on time. The County Clerk initially reported three precincts had opened late, later on we were told by the Attorney General's Office that they had been told twenty five by the County Clerk, and then later in the day we were told by the County Clerk that there were at least eleven but that she was still looking into it. The public's confidence in our elections was rocked by this election proclamation, which normally is only issued when a natural disaster or emergency occurs. The Governor did not lightly issue this proclamation and under the circumstances, he arguably had no other choice than to protect the rights of the voters, if the County Clerk's general representations to Attorney General were correct. Following the election, we waited for the County Clerk to follow up on her representation that she would follow up and get a more definite answer as to 4 what the scope of the problem was. We heard nothing on Sunday or Monday from her regarding any further details. A statewide meeting, in Hilo, was scheduled for August 14, 2012 (Tuesday) with all the county clerks to debrief about the Primary Election. During the meeting, the County Clerk still could not answer the question of how many polls had opened late. Additionally, she had no answers to why there had been problems with delivering supplies in West Hawaii to the polling places on election day. Her answers were essentially that she was still looking into it. In the end, we did not get the responses we expected from a county clerk, who had been entrusted with elections within her county. Having said that, given that the public is asking and the fact that we needed to know what the scope of the opening of polls problem was, we immediately conducted our own investigation. Specifically, we took custody of the record books for all forty polling places in the County of Hawaii. We also, immediately began calling every precinct chairperson in the County of Hawaii to get answers, with calls being made that evening and the following morning. The result of that investigation, which was completed the following morning, after reviewing the records books and the notes from the telephone calls, was that a total of thirteen polling places out of forty polling places opened late. However, of those thirteen polling places, four opened between 7:01 a.m. and 7:03 a.m., five opened no later 7:30 a.m., two opened no later than 8:00 a.m., and the final two opened at 8:40 a.m. A copy of the spreadsheet showing the exact opening times for each polling place is attached. Our review of what transpired in the County of Hawaii focused on two things. First, was the conduct of the 2012 Primary Election defensible under the law? Second, did the conduct of the County Clerk unnecessarily undermine the public's confidence in our electoral system? In regards to the first question, our initial review of the matter indicates that the irregularities complained of, while unfortunate, do not rise to the level of changing the election results. Specifically, irregularities must involve sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the irregularities complained of could have caused a difference in the election results. Sufficient evidence requires something more than a "mere fishing expedition undertaken in the hope that in an examination of all the ballots enough might be discovered to change the result." Brown v. laukea, 18 Haw. 131, 133 (1906). Additionally, any challenger would need to show "actual information of mistakes or errors sufficient to change the result." Funakoshi, 65 Haw. at 316 -17 (citing laukea, 18 Haw. at 133). Further, a challenge cannot be based on "mere belief or indefinite information." Akaka, 84 Hawai'i at 388 (citing Kulike v. Fern, 19 Haw. 278, 283 (1909)). Ultimately, the Hawaii Supreme Court has determined that "[i]n the absence of facts showing that irregularities exceed the reported margin between the candidates, 5 the complaint is legally insufficient because, even if its truth were assumed, the result of the election would not be affected." Akaka, 84 Hawai'i at 388 (internal citations omitted). In the present case, the irregularities complained of do not appear to be legally sufficient to change the election results. As for the question of whether the conduct of the County Clerk unnecessarily undermined the public's confidence in our electoral system, the answer is unfortunately yes, for the reasons previously noted. This cannot be allowed to happen again. The County Clerk must rededicate herself to mastering election administration or at the very minimum to surround herself with individuals with expertise in election administration. Additionally, the County Clerk must work on learning to communicate effectively and in a timely manner to other members of the election community and to the public as a whole. We look forward to continuing to work with the Office of the County Clerk, so as to learn from the events of the Primary Election, and to ensure a well administered General Election. 6 WILLIAM B. MARSTON ELECTION COMMISSION CHAIR STATE OF HAWAII ELECTIONS COMMISSION MINUTES REGULAR MEETING OF THE ELECTIONS COMMISSION May 30, 2012 @ 10:00 AM STATE OFFICE TOWER BUILDING 235 SO. BERETANIA STREET, ROOM 204 HONOLULU, HAWAII 96813 Commissioners in Attendance: Mr. William Marston, Chair Ms. Patricia Berg Mr. Charles King Ms. Margaret Masunaga Mr. Brian Nakashima Ms. Zale Okazaki Mr. Warren Orikasa Ms. Donna Soares Technical Support Staff in Attendance: Ms. Robyn Chun, Department of the Attorney General Mr. Scott Nago, Chief Election Officer Ms. Judy Gold, Office of Elections Mr. Rex Quidilla, Office of Elections Ms. Carolyn Roldan, Office of Elections Mr. David Rosenbrock, Office of Elections Mr. Rhowell Ruiz, Office of Elections Mr. Aaron Schulaner, Office of Elections Ms. Lori Tomczyk, Office of Elections Guests in Attendance: Mr. Glen Takahashi, City and County of Honolulu Ms. Jamae Kawauchi, County of Hawaii Ms. Arlene Boteilho, County of Hawaii Mr. Lyndon Yoshioka, County of Kauai Mr. Jeffrey Kuwada, County of Maui Ms. Shirley Magarifuji, County of Maui Councilman Dennis Onishi, County of Hawaii PROCEEDINGS I. Call to Order Chair Marston called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. on May 30, 2012, at the State Office Tower Building, Room 204. II. Roll Cali and Determination of a Quorum Elections Commission Secretary conducted roll za`° ommissioner Young was not in attendance. III. Approval of Minutes of the March 15, 20 Agenda item IX is corrected to rea Commissioner Soares moved to app the m meeting. Chair Marston se onded, an IV. Public Testimony — Any in arson m on any agenda item mmission Meeting s of the 15, 2011 rried una ` :. sly. Chair Marsto Onishi's co discussion. bmit data, views or arguments d, if the e defe testim •' s s given. V. Sta x.� .•ort th injun in Marc This alto Elections. Nago a his May 18, 2s seeking th 012. Th e Offi ction t4, :'. er cussion on Councilman no. VII is open for ission ould report on agenda items V and VI The Commission agreed. CEO Nago reported he was held to hear a motion for a preliminary vision e Reapportionment Plan which was adopted urt issued an order on May 22 "d denying the motion. Elections (OE) to continue preparing for the 2012 CEO reported tha e three impacts of the late Reapportionment Plan is: 1. The OE was not able to publish the Hawaii Votes Brochure which is normally sent to every household. This brochure educates the public on various aspects of elections and voting. Some of the topics covered in this brochure are voter registration, absentee voting, proper marking of ballots, polling place information, and single party voting during the primary. The lead time needed to prepare, publish and mail the brochure would not allow for any changes that may have occurred as a result of the litigation. The OE is now working with radio and TV stations to provide public service announcements and ads to convey information published in the Hawaii Votes Brochure to the public. Elections Commission Minutes May 30, 2012 Page 3 2. Candidate filing was also impacted by the late Reapportionment Plan. The opening of candidate filing was moved from February 1st to March 9th Because voter district and polling place assignments could not be completed in time, the verification of signatories on nomination papers has become a timely two step process for staff. Since the Statewide Voter Registration Data Base is not updated, it co , • only be used to verify that individuals are registered to vote. Staff ap hen have to locate the addresses on maps to verify the exact that they live in. This would have to be done for seats that have . �� : Y� , � requirements. 3. The last item impacted was th fir `;aration a • "�,;iling of what is known as the voter "yellow card ". rd notifies the , that he or she is a registered voter and lets th` ow where they are'. ned to vote. It also helps us determine if the info t' on on file rrect. Due to the delays, the finali ing and rnai'' ^r,•f � rds will no until mid or late July. It was. '�� • o �" - rd" process is •'= rformed by y that the �<< , the Counties. Maui }� : i Count ,• almost done with their yellow card preparations. T County nolulu is currently working on compeetn • their ye l - , he C • of Hawaii has just started working A : T 3 cards. Aco find out tion re cards o ime is that the public may egistered and will not meet the primary f July 12th. Commissioner Berg asked ssib My Ito 'r3 dite the printing of these cards so ailed o % first of July. Unfortunately, due to the rtionmen plan, the yellow card process could only o and the cards will not be completed in time for that t lateness • e started -first of July Commissro Rg Masun= opened discussion on the "Primer on Hawaii's Elections" w �� a . pared by the Office of Elections. She referred to page 19, which sho i County as having 40/3 polling places. She questioned if the 3 referred to po ng places that had Tess than 500 voters and asked if voters assigned to those polling places will be sent absentee ballots. CEO Nago explained to the Commission that with the passage of Act 100, any polling place with less than 500 voters will receive absentee ballots or will be able to vote absentee walk. Commissioner Masunaga asked what three polling places are affected and CEO Nago responded that there are two locations in the Keaau area and one, Ernest B. DeSilva Elementary School, in Hilo. Commissioner Masunaga noted that she knew there was one absentee walk location in Hilo and one at the West Hawaii Civic Center and wanted to know where the third location was. CEO Nago noted that the third location was in Waimea. Hawaii County Clerk Jamae Kawauchi confirmed that the location was the Waimea Community Center. Elections Commission Minutes May 30, 2012 Page 4 Commissioner Orikasa asked CEO Nago if he was comfortable with the progress of the election preparation. CEO Nago responded that due to time constraints, this is not a normal election. However, he feels that we have sped up the preparation process and we should be able to meet the goal of putting on a secure and honest election for 2012. Commissioner Berg asked if the OE is assignin precincts for the entire state. CEO Nago exp voter assignment is the responsibility of th asked if the process of verifying voters f being done by the OE. CEO Nago e same function based on the seat t p d th candid oters to the correct that based on statute, the Commissioner Berg also urpe-;; of candidate filing is only at ea••unty performs the ate is r g g for. Commissioner Masunaga expressed # . pprec Election Primer and asked • the numbe registered voters for Haw i nty. It wa population census number Y , u Coun total number of registered vo the estimated number is arou what the esti = ber for are approx registe there are ap3,imately. 000 re •'d voter n for the aration of the Y.i K age one is umber of led that the numb shown is the e then asked if we knew the awaii. CEO Nago noted that missioner Soares asked estimated that there CEO Nago also noted that rs`�r Kauai and 464,000 on . 'd the p =; rovide the aga. ions Commissioners are allowed to aining ? Y .. Nago responded that they are and he ule for County of Hawaii to Commissioner Comma would giv that as in pa VI. Discussion of Co sked if the Commissioners will be given ID cards which o different locations on election day. CEO Nago said all the Commissioners will be given ID passes. rns and planning for the 2012 Elections Please refer to Agenda Item V. VII. Discussion re: Councilman Dennis Onishi Correspondence Chair Marston announced that Councilman Onishi was in attendance and asked if he had any comments. Council Onishi stated that he was in attendance to listen to the discussion on his correspondence. Elections Commission Minutes May 30, 2012 Page 5 Hawaii County Clerk Jamae Kawauchi introduced herself to the Elections Commission. She noted that she was in attendance to answer any questions that the Commission had in addition to the information already provided in the letter to Councilman Onishi. Commissioner Masunaga asked County Clerk Ka election staff was the same as the previous ele responded that she has the same number of vacant positions are temporarily filled with by the OE. She also noted that she has elections clerk seasonal positions tha workers have been hired on sched uchi if the number of her County Clerk Kawauchi nent staff and her previously t staff that have been trained warehouse and 10 election year. These Commissioner Orikasa asked County provided for her election s -ff since the background. County Cle :a�+ uchi resp members that have been 5�; ections also have three more staff ``µbb -t t have years. As far as training, she has been ve Commissio background w • the ±_. g Co hi what I f training was e extensive ; - -, tions hat she current! as two staff on for many years and they d on elections in previous and feels that the training rk Kawa hi what her elections work hi responded that she was appointed by eral understanding of election laws, ner Okazaki explained that when the the Ch ction Officer, the expectations were that •ve background, experience, and knowledge of ki once again asked what her elections Cle F %% awauchi responded that she has a general ws, County Charter, administration, and operations. so asked County Clerk Kawauchi what positions she unty, more specifically, elections positions. County ded that the current position is the only one. el back unders Commiss previously h Clerk Kawauch mission erson had s. Commi d was. C g of stat Okaza t Commissioner Orikasa asked what kind of training was being provided by the OE. CEO Nago clarified that the OE is providing training to the County staff with respect to all State functions and responsibilities such as candidate filing, precinct operations, and counting center operations. This training is provided to all counties but since there was a higher staff turnover in Hawaii County, they were provided extra training. Since staff turnover was in key election positions, Commissioner Orikasa asked County Clerk Kawauchi if the training provided was adequate enough and was she comfortable with her staffs' level of competency and ability to perform their duties with respect to conducting the elections. County Clerk Kawauchi's response was yes, she was very comfortable with her staffs' ability to conduct this years election. Elections Commission Minutes May 30, 2012 Page 6 Commissioner Berg expressed serious concern stating that having new staff with little election experience in key positions and dealing with the compressed election preparation time, there is a real possibility that serious problems will arise and the OE and Elections Commission will be held responsible. She suggested that, if at all possible, to explore the possibility of bringing in someone, perhaps from another county, with elections and a• inistrative experience on a temporary basis to assist the county elections d' . She also feels that benchmarks should be established and frequ cussions be held with the CEO to discuss if these benchmarks have County Clerk Kawauchi said that she is exploring the possibility * ing {9: one with experience assist them but has not found anyon �,;As far as hmarks, County Clerk Kawauchi is to willing work with C : • o in establish.; - nchmarks and providing information and updates Commission. Commissioner Orikasa no -d that the C there will be a fail safe pr Q+,9 ree electi election experience is a re ifi"� k+ for , or him. the Commission that she an everything they can to conduc agreed that b h Axe shoul he underst ouncil people of H s looking fo to . urances that having staff wits`' invited my Clerk Kawauchi assured ery hard and are doing issioner Orikasa also E. He also noted that if same concerns for the M ented to the Commission that he also s. He feels that even with his highly tall, co y *'ng elections is a challenge. He could possibly consider returning one of its former ucting this upcoming elections. rience ested that staff to as County is at 89.9 been comp 20% is equival county is continua eported that Hawaii County precinct official recruitment reported that 80% of their voter assignments have on the total number of registered voters, the remaining ,000 registered voters that need to be assigned. The o work with ESRI, the computer software company that was contracted to work on Redistricting, and will get assignment data in the next few days. Commissioner Orikasa asked County Clerk Kawauchi how she viewed County Clerk Kuwada's suggestion to rehire one of the former elections staff to assist the current staff. County Clerk Kawauchi responded that she will explore what possibilities are available. Commissioner Orikasa asked Councilman Onishi how the Clerk is selected and Onishi responded that Clerk is appointed by the Council Chair. Commissioner Orikasa then asked what opportunities are available for the Council to get Elections Commission Minutes May 30, 2012 Page 7 involved with getting assurances that the elections will be successful. Councilman Onishi responded that he could make a request to the Council Chair that the elections topic be placed on the agenda for the next Council meeting. He also explained that since the election time frame is so short, he wrote to the OE and the Elections Commission to see if he could get the status on the Hawaii County elections. Commissioner Orikasa then suggested that to have the elections topic placed on the a he would ask the Chair to place the topi Councilman Onishi also stated that h' f Elections Commission was to prot w'. peopl sure that they have a fair and open ction. Commissioner King had as ed for clan County of Hawaii. CEO id that th Clerk Kawauchi explained �z, '� + -. 0% that that have reported unusual - s � e� : tions those that are on the new rea asked if the 20 done in the office is ag nor a from the end of . , nd in fi for the man Onishi go ahead and try uncilman Onishi said that eetings agenda. he OE and the aunty and make or goin e of Ha ter assign for the ss has just start& and County of been assigned are those r voter registrations and es. Commissioner King awauchi responded that o complete the process by 9. y card m a con sendin Property t 20,00 ained that i *�� • naI staff an eir office t•* din •� out to th 'vision ut things into context for the Hawaii County voters is equal to at to be ;; ssed manually. County Clerk Kawauchi ult process for the office but they are bringing in be -°'sty . the public who may fall into this category, to vide needed information. The office will also be locations and will work with the Finance Department ssist with trying to identify these locations. Elections Admi ` Glen Takahashi from the City and County gave the Commissioners a 0 ief description of the duties and responsibilities of the Counties. The Counties are responsible for voter registration and absentee voting. He also explained that since the new Reapportionment Plan was finalized, it has taken about a month to complete precincting and voters now have to be reassigned to the correct district and precinct. The voter registration database will also need to be updated. The Kauai and Maui Counties have already completed updating their files. This process for the City and County has just begun. He also noted that for the County of Hawaii, identifying the difficult locations and completing election day preparations at the same time will be very challenging. The City and County and the County of Hawaii are working to try Elections Commission Minutes May 30, 2012 Page 8 and have their files updated in time to send out the yellow cards before the voter registration deadline. Unfortunately the lateness of the finalized Reapportionment Plan has created many serious challenges even for the most seasoned and experienced election staff, however, every effort is being made to complete the process with the minimal amount of error and disruption. CEO Nago wanted to clarify for the Commissio sent out until all voters are assigned. The st now, only Maui and Kauai Counties have Q yellow cards can now be mailed out. H - ''! °T oun Honolulu are working to try and meet July targe Commissioner Soares noted her c are always challenging and she is gr She feels that if somethin be a reflection on the enti ask for any assistance nee also encouraged her to try to set her benchmarks. he yellow cards cannot be target was July, but as of their assignments so their d the City and County of about the curren forth ^= aff that t aii County ed County Clerk” awauchi to tions. Commissioner Berg nced staff to assist her and tion. Elections ui County has. ions, it will oes wrong . She en duct th ore ex Commissio misunderst that this is a g juris „K= over t earlier comments ected to yone individually. He feels the commission and the OE have no were meant to be supportive and ssed her appreciation and thanked e . arston exp ed to { ncilman Onishi that he hopes he will report back to th- '4. ncil the co rns th e Commission has regarding elections. He also wa to comm that the elections are a cooperative effort that involves all parties e als • courages County Clerk Kawauchi to get whatever resources ne' k.a ;z ucceed in this election. Councilman Onishi suggested that if available; mmissioners could attend the next Council meeting. Commissioners 0••-' aki and Masunaga said that they would be willing to attend the meeting if elections were placed on the agenda. Councilman Onishi also expressed that he is appreciative that this issue was placed on this Commission meeting agenda for discussion. Commissioner Soares asked CEO Nago how he feels about the situation and CEO Nago responded that there is no substitute for experience. Commissioner Soares agreed and expressed concern about how problems that occur on election night will be handled. She also feels that this should be looked at by the Council. Elections Commission Minutes May 30, 2012 Page 9 Chair Marston thanked County Clerk Kawauchi for attending the meeting and reminded her that the Commission was there to offer help if needed. VIII. Discussion re: Reapportionment Hearing held on May 18, 2012 CEO Nago reported that the hearing for the prelim revision of the current plan was held on May 18 court order issued on May 22, 2012. IX. Executive Session Pursuant to Haw. Rev. Stat. §92 -5 reappointment of the Chief Electio privacy will be involved. Commissioner Okazaki Motion was seconded by Ty injunction seeking a and was later denied in a relating to the Ica =,, ation and icer as considerate: k; matters involving n to go into exe ` eve session. a and carried unanimously. The Commission resolved int open meeting ,;s �:a m. X. Adjournmen Com s :21 am and reconvened in meeting be adjourned. Motion was pproved unanimously by the El '- R � ns Commis " mee ` , as adjourned at 11:45 a.m. Next co P sion me-",• has been scheduled for August 22, 2012. Respectfully submitted, Carolyn L. Roldan Elections Commission Secretary DISTRICT PRECINT OPEN 01 -01 Honokaa HS 7:OOAM 7.1.:111 01 -05 Kulaimano Comm Ctr 7:OOAM 01 -06 Kalanaianaole Elem /inter Sch 7:OOAM 01 -07 Puueo Multi - Culture Ctr 7:OOAM 01 -10 Kaumana Elem Sch 7:OOAM 02 -01 Hilo High Sch 7:OOAM 02 -02 Edith Kanakaole Tennis Stad 7:OOAM 02 -03 Keaukaha Elem 7:01am 02 -04 Waiakea Elem Sch 7:03am ea., 03 -01 AJA Memorial Hall 7:OOAM 03 -04 Keaau HS 7:OOAM ountain 04 -01 Hawaiian Paradise Comm Ctr 7:10a m 04 -02 Keonepoko Elem Sch 7:OOAM Qa, co 05 -01 Naalehu Elem Sch 7:00AM a onawaena ans eel r ° tuna 06 -02 Kahakai Elem Sch 8:40am 06 -03 Kekuaokalani Gym 7:OOam 06 -04 Kealakehe HS 7:OOam 06 -05 Kona Palisades Comm Ctr 7:53am 07 -01 West Hawaii Ctr 7:OOam 07 -03 Kohala HS and Elem 7:01am 07 -04 Waimea Civic Ctr 7:OOAM Na ea ew.