HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 1063.002 2012-20149(mwc
COMMENTS ON COMMUNICATION 1063 RE. PREVENTING ANOTHER ELECTION DISRUPTION
for Hawai'i County Council Committee on Public Safety & Mass Transit
3 PM Tuesday, September 30, 2014 Hilo chambers
from Cory Harden, Box 10265, Hilo, Hawai'i 96721 808 -959 -7747 333cory( mail.com
Mahalo to County Council and elections officials for taking a hard look at the primary election and
planning ahead for the general election.
Please consider strong encouragement of mail -in voting as one approach.
Our last two primary elections did not go well.
In 2012, there was evidence of drinking, storage of alcohol, and private business activity at a County
elections warehouse. Four elections workers were fired. Shortly before election day, County elections
workers received a -mails and texts urging them to do a bad job. And on election day, many workers
called in sick, some elections materials went to the wrong precinct or went missing, and many precinct
phones didn't work. The State then took over the 2012 general election.
In 2014, the primary was under County control —and again, things went badly. Two polling places were
closed because of Tropical Storm Iselle. Other polling places remained open, but some voters could not
get there because of storm impacts. Election results were released soon after polls closed, despite the
missing votes.
Voters from the two closed polling places were told they'd have two weeks to do mail -in voting. Then
suddenly that changed to a make -up election less than a week after the storm, but no voting for areas
where polls had remained open.
Colleen Hanabusa requested a delay, and a group of Big Island voters disputed the election thus far.
Judge Nakamura ruled against them. But he cited "people. ,trying to recover frorri the property darnage
caused by stormi conditions, the lack of agility z. freely nnove caboi.0, the lack. of to ectr ical power and
d.?'`ia.i1fies in regard to obataining food and ,fjate and .some i `.iens livity to the plight of, people in Puma,'
He e €,- ,dded, flhe t. our[ is i?ot s!3f }°.)Used In i .?'t( ,jjith a!i ori,*oi a €:;ledi t oror;ess, IVen if t is
t� ut`:r gE' i ?: #ie�S aitarzln`a: ±i#1i7ab.'.;Sa, E:i £;il0f Wry 11.11) { , r t.,t <d. rr., a x:'.1 r:3k.:, 2014 8 1 v?
After the makeup election was held, Councilmember Ford filed a formal complaint with a federal commission on
election access.
["'ACLU files complaint over primary election ", Hawai'i
ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) filed a court complaint about holding the makeup election "one
week after the storm, when thousands of residents were still without power or, in some cases, were unable to
leave their homes or neighborhoods because of storm damage ". ACLU also cited people who couldn't get to
polls that had remained open.
[ACLU complaint, cited in 'ACLU files complaint over primary election ", Hawai'i Tribune - Herald, 2014 8 -221
The ACLU complaint was rejected.
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Thank you for your efforts to avoid more fiascos and conduct elections that truly reflect the will of the' -O
people, w
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Comm. No. 10G3. 2
Ref. To: q 7G
' 2014