State lawmakers
consider same-day
voter registration

Legislators discuss ways
to combat voter apathy

By Lisa Asato
Star-Bulletin

As Hawaii heads into a big election season in 2002 -- when all state House and Senate seats are up for grabs as well as the seats for governor and U.S. House -- state lawmakers are proposing the Office of Elections study same-day voter registration.

With political participation lagging nationwide over the past two decades, the idea behind same-day registration is to encourage all eligible voters to vote.

The House Finance Committee on Monday approved the resolution, which was to go for a floor vote today.

But Dwayne Yoshina, chief election officer, said getting people to the polls involves more than accessibility.

"Voter registration is already simple, accessible and convenient," he said, pointing to programs such as Wikiwiki voter registration implemented in the late 1980s and "motor voter" registration in the early 1990s, which lets people register when applying for or renewing their driver's license.

Today, most register through the mail using a form available in the telephone book, Yoshina said.

"We have tried to make registration services, or all elections services, more accessible and convenient to the public by removing administrative obstacles and impediments," he said. "If we compare ourselves nationwide, we're in the upper third as far as accessibility, and yet we don't see the large increase (in registration rates)."

In Hawaii, eligible voters can register up to 30 days before an election. Yoshina said workers use that time to compile precinct voting rosters and poll books.

According to state Elections Office estimates, 74 percent of Hawaii's 765,452 eligible voters are already registered.

Nationwide, proponents of same-day registration give partial credit to Minnesota's same-day law to Jesse Ventura's successful 1998 bid for governor.

"(Minnesota) showed it can happen," said Larry Meacham, spokesman for Common Cause Hawaii and a supporter of the measure. "A lot of young people registered on Election Day in '98 because of Jesse Ventura. I'm not saying Jesse Ventura is wonderful, but it did increase participation by young people."

And according to the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate, three of the four states that allow people to register on Election Day led the nation in voter turnout in the 2000 presidential election. That study, which incorporates all people of voting age regardless of eligibility, ranked Minnesota, a same-day state, No. 1 with 68 percent turnout -- and Hawaii last with 41 percent.

Yoshina said tackling the issue of declining voter participation is complex and would require reconnecting the public to the political process.

He also said he was concerned about impacts such as delayed certification of election results and voter fraud. He said the office supports the intent of House Concurrent Resolution 117 but is asking for an unspecified amount of funds to carry it out.

"This is not a small thing," he said. "This has major implications for operations."

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State of Hawaii