HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOMM. 161 Goodenow, K - CA-12
Serving the Interests of the People of Our Island
Hawai‘i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer
ENOW
County Clerk
KENNETH G. GOOD
County of Hawai‘i
Office of the County Clerk
Facsimile: (808) 961-8912
Deputy County Clerk
January 20, 2010
ent via e-mail to keoff@co.hawaii.hi.us; no hard copy will follow
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720
Telephone: (808) 961-8255
RODNEY OSHIRO
S
s of the
ommission
y Council
ilo, Hawai‘i 96720
ear Chairman Hiatsuka and Commission Members:
RE: Comments about Charter Amendment Proposal CA-12 (Draft 2)
ence address to the information required by signers
f a Charter amendment petition.
alid
nt
e found in Section 13-27 “County Election” uses the term “all votes
alidly cast.”
to Section 15-1.
The Office of the County Clerk supports this amendment to the Charter.
Honorable Edmund Hiatsuka and Member
County of Hawai‘i Charter C
c/o Hawai‘i Count
25 Aupuni Street
H
D
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on proposed Charter amendment CA-
12 (Draft 2) which would amend section 15-1 “Initiation of Amendments or Revisions”
of Article XV “Charter Amendment or Revision” of the current Charter. My office is
grateful to the Commission for its earlier action of amending proposed amendment CA-
12 by adding the inclusion of a resid
o
After discussing this matter with Election Administrator Pat Nakamoto, I
respectfully request that the Commission amend CA-12 (Draft 2) by deleting the
language “votes cast in the last preceding general election” and replacing that language
with “total ballots cast in the last preceding general election” or in the alternative “v
votes cast in the last preceding general election”. I believe either of these of these
phrases would be clearer than the language “votes cast”. I also note that the certified
results provided by the State Office of Elections are by total ballots cast and the curre
Charter languag
v
CA-12 (Draft 2) would also provide the county clerk thirty, as opposed to twenty,
working days to complete the examination of any petition filed pursuant
Honorable Edmund Haitsuka and Members of the
County of Hawai‘i Charter Commission
Re: CA-12 (Draft 2)
January 20, 2010
Page 2
Lastly, CA-12 (Draft 2) also proposes to amend 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, this provision would
require our office to verify this additional information. I note, however, that it is our
office’s interpretation of the Charter to require all items called for in the Charter, i.e., if
this proposal were to be adopted, a person who listed an incorrect date of birth or the last
four digits of their social security number, or left the space for this information blank,
would not have their name 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”.
If I can provide further information or assistance, please do not hesitate to contact
me at 961-8271.
Yours, very truly,
KENNETH G. GOODENOW
Serving the Interests of the People of Our Island
Hawai‘i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer