They'll be voting on 10 charter amendments, including proposals to choose Council members by district, limit them to eight consecutive years in office and adopt Honolulu's practice of holding nonpartisan county elections.

Morris Shinsato, chairman of the county Charter Review Commission, said residents' most frequent request was for district elections during the nine months the panel deliberated on charter amendments.

He said voters complained that some districts, particularly the north shore, haven't had a resident on the Council for many years.

Opponents of districting say it will increase provincialism and pork barrel politics.

Kauai is the only county in the state that still elects all seven Council members at-large. If the districting measure is approved in the Nov. 5 election, the mayor will name an apportionment committee to create district boundaries and voters will choose five members by district and two at-large beginning with the 1998 primary election.

The 1998 election also could signal the start of nonpartisan balloting for the mayor, Council and prosecuting attorney, and four-year Council terms - with a limit of two consecutive terms - if voters adopt those amendments. Council members now serve for two years, with no term limits.

Voters also will be asked to decide whether they want to repeal an amendment that requires six of the seven planning commissioners to represent either business, labor or environmental interests. Former Councilman Jimmy Tehada put the measure on the ballot during former Mayor JoAnn Yukimura's tenure in an attempt to keep her from stacking the panel with environmentalists. Other measures include proposals to:

Clearly define the powers of the Council and administration in spending grant monies.

Allow the planning director to become a voting member of the water board.

Publicize the findings of the Cost Control Commission.

Raise county bidding thresholds to state standards.

Despite heavy lobbying by the League of Women Voters, commissioners did not support a measure to create a parks department, citing insufficient information about costs and implementation.

Kauai League President Susan Wilson said voters should have been allowed to decide the issue anyway. She also criticized the panel for scuttling six other suggested amendments, including one that called for setting minimum qualifications for department heads.

Shinsato said voters would be overwhelmed if all 17 proposals were on the ballot.

LIHUE - The Kauai chapter of the League of Women Voters will host a rally Thursday in an effort to combat civic apathy.

Community leaders, politicians and voters are invited to discuss what constitutes "good government" and to suggest ways of encouraging more people to participate in government.

The rally is set for 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall.

It will be videotaped and broadcast on Channel 12, the public access station, Nov. 1, 2 and 3.

The league also will be offering drive-through voter registration Monday from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in front of the old county building.