Editorials
Saturday, April 14, 2001
State seeks ways
to lure lost voters
The issue: State lawmakers are seeking
ways to increase the number of citizens
who vote after only 41 percent of those
of voting age went to the ballot box
in the elections last year.
A HOUSE RESOLUTION asks the state Office of Elections to study whether allowing people to register to vote on election day is a workable plan, while a Senate measure proposes a task force to look for ways not only to increase voter rolls but to get those who are registered to cast ballots.Both are worthwhile ventures, especially because next year the voters will choose a new governor and lieutenant governor, all state House and Senate seats, both seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Board of Education, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the councils and mayors of Maui, Hawaii, Kauai and Oahu counties.
Getting people into the voting booth appears to be the challenge. The House's proposal would allow people to register to vote and immediately cast ballots; it will require some care and adjustments. At present, voter rolls are closed 30 days before an election to allow officials to process registrations, check for fraud and prepare poll books and other material.
Dwayne Yoshina, the chief election officer, said same-day registration would likely increase voter participation. But the tradeoff may be a slower voting process on election day and possibly delayed results. Minnesota, which has a same-day law, sets aside ballots cast by last-minute registered voters to allow officials time to investigate possible voter fraud. In some close races, tallies may take some days or longer to finalize.
Same-day registration also would increase the cost of elections because more workers will be required to handle the added procedure and at present, election officials have a difficult time finding people willing to take these jobs, which pay between $75 and $120 for a 12-hour day.
Registering to vote isn't difficult. Forms are available at libraries, post offices, county clerk offices, satellite city halls, state agency offices, on the Internet (www.state.hi.us/elections), even in the phone book. The state even conducts drive-through registration as election days draw near.
The state Elections Office estimates that 74 percent of Hawaii's 765,452 eligible voters are already registered.
VOTING ISN'T MUCH OF A TASK, especially since the state allows voters to cast absentee ballots by mail and at election sites without requiring a reason other than preference.
On general election day, employers are required to give employees time off to go to the polls; state and county workers even get the whole day off. So maybe the problem isn't registration but more an apathy among voters. Or it may be that citizens have become cynical about the election process or that candidates fail to excite them.
These are excuses, not reasons. It is a citizen's right and responsibility to participate in the process and these proposals seek to make that duty easier. Besides, if you don't vote, you have no right to complain about those who get elected.
Published by Oahu Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Black Press.Don Kendall, President
John Flanagan, publisher and editor in chief 529-4748; jflanagan@starbulletin.com
Frank Bridgewater, managing editor 529-4791; fbridgewater@starbulletin.com
Michael Rovner, assistant managing editor 529-4768; mrovner@starbulletin.com
Lucy Young-Oda, assistant managing editor 529-4762; lyoungoda@starbulletin.com The Honolulu Star-Bulletin (USPS 249460) is published daily by
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