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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOMM. 095 Goodenow, K - CA-12KENNETH G. GOODENOW County Clerk Mailing Address: (Former County Building) 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 County of Hawai‘i Office of the County Clerk RODNEY OSHIRO Deputy County Clerk Business Address: 333 K lauea Avenue, Second Floor Ben Franklin Building Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 Telephone: (808) 961-8255 Facsimile: (808) 961-8912 November 5, 2009 Sent via e-mail to keoff@co.hawaii.hi.us; no hard copy will follow Honorable Edmund Haitsuka and Members of the County of Hawai‘i Charter Commission c/o Hawai‘i County Council 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 RE: Comments about Charter Amendment Proposal CA-12 Dear Chairman Haitsuka and Commission Members: Thank you for the opportunity to comment on proposed Charter amendment CA-12 which would amend section 15-1 “Initiation of Amendments or Revisions” of Article XV “Charter Amendment or Revision” of the current Charter. My office, which includes the Office of Elections, provides no comment on changing the signature requirement for a charter amendment petition from at least twenty percent of registered voters for the last general election to twenty percent of the number of votes cast in the preceding general election, as election officials must remain neutral on purely policy questions beyond the purview of our election responsibilities. Pat Nakamoto, our Elections Division head and I are concerned, however that this amendment removes the requirement that signers of a petition provide a residence address. Charter amendment CA-12 reads in part: Each elector signing such petition shall print their [names, add their signatures, residence address, and the dates of signing on said petition] name, which shall be reasonably similar to their name as it appears on the general county register for the County of Hawai‘i, Serving the Interests of the People of Our Island Hawai‘i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer Honorable Edmund Haitsuka and Members of the County of Hawai‘i Charter Commission November 5, 2009 Page 2 and add their signature, month and day of their birth date, and the last four digits of their social security number on said petition. Charter section 15-1 requires that petitions be signed by qualified electors. Our office interprets this to mean that the person signing the petition be registered to vote and actually be a county resident. Hawai‘i Revised Statutes (“HRS”) § 11-15 requires a person registering to vote to make an affidavit that contains a statement that the person’s “residence was acquired with the intent to make Hawaii the person’s legal residence with all the accompanying obligations therein.” HRS § 11-17(b) also states: The clerk shall also identify or remove the name of any registered voter, if the clerk, after mailing a notice or other correspondence, properly addressed, with postage prepaid receives the notice or other correspondence as return mail with a postal notation that the notice or other correspondence was not deliverable. On election day, any person identified or removed shall have the person’s name corrected or restored in the register and shall be allowed to vote if the person completes an affidavit or other form prescribed by the chief election officer affirming that the person: claims the person’s legal residence at the address listed on the register; changed the person’s legal residence after the closing of the register for that election; or, moved to a new residence within the same precinct as the person’s residence as listed on the register. Clearly, simply being registered to vote at a certain residence does not entitle a voter to vote if they no longer reside there. At the poll book station on Election Day, voters are asked to verify their information in the poll book, which includes residence address. If the address is incorrect, the voter must complete a Re-registration Application Form (RAF) before being allowed to vote. If based on their new residence address, they are at the incorrect precinct, they must take a copy of the RAF to the new precinct and the voter’s name will be added to the poll book by correction order. Without a residence address listed on a recall petition, there is no way of knowing if a person is a qualified voter. Serving the Interests of the People of Our Island Hawai‘i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer Honorable Edmund Haitsuka and Members of the County of Hawai‘i Charter Commission November 5, 2009 Page 3 In addition to deleting the requirement that a residence address be provided, CA-12 amends section 15-1(b) by requiring persons signing a petition to add the month and day of their birth date and the last four digits of their social security number. While not very difficult, it would require our office to verify this additional information. Also, if this amendment were to pass, it is our interpretation of the charter to require all items called for in the Charter, i.e., if a person listed an incorrect date of birth or the last four digits of their social security number, or left the space for this information blank, their name would not be counted in determining whether the petition contained a sufficient number of signatures. In my opinion, providing a date of birth or the last four digits of a social security number is not necessary. While it might be argued that having the last four digits of a social security number may assist our office in cases of an illegibly printed name, this has not been a common issue in the past. We have no objection to stating that the name listed on a petition be reasonably similar to their name as it appears on the general county register, but note that this has always been our office’s practice, e.g., the name “Bobby Smith” would be accepted for a person registered as “Robert Smith”. This Amendment would also provide the county clerk thirty, as opposed to twenty, working days to complete the examination any petition filed pursuant to Section 15-1. The Office of the County Clerk supports this proposed change to the Charter. If I can provide further information or assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me at 961-8271. Yours, very truly, KENNETH G. GOODENOW County Clerk Serving the Interests of the People of Our Island Hawai‘i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer