One of the peculiarities of Hawaii voting laws is that blank ballots are counted as a “;no”; vote in the once-a-decade question of whether or not to hold a state Constitutional Convention.

The state Supreme Court ruled at the behest of the Hawaii AFL-CIO that blank ballots were to be included as “;ballots cast”; and that “;yes”; votes had to total more than both “;no”; and blank votes for the measure to pass.

Lt. Gov. James “;Duke”; Aiona is asking that the state Office of Elections start an educational campaign to inform the public that if they don't vote on the question of whether or not to hold a Constitutional Convention, it is the same as a “;no”; vote.

“;I have found that many voters are simply unaware that a blank vote will be treated as a vote 'against' a Constitutional Convention,”; Aiona wrote in an Oct. 6 letter to Kevin Cronin, state elections officer. “;In order to maintain the integrity of our election system, it is critical that all voters be made aware of the law and how their voting choices will ultimately be treated.”;

In the 1996 election, 163,869 voters were in favor of holding a convention and 160,153 voted “;no.”; But another 45,245 left the question blank, so the total of “;no”; and blank votes was more than the “;yes”; votes and the question failed.

Cronin responded to Aiona, telling him that he didn't have any money left for voter education in the general election because it had all been spent.

“;The small amount appropriated for the 2008 elections has already been spent for the primary election on voter registration and voting procedures in the '2008 Voter Info Brochure,'”; Cronin wrote.

To help out, Cronin said he would put a notice on the Office of Elections Web site, http://www.hawaii.gov/elections, and also try to get free advertising for public service announcements.

Also, Cronin said he would put up posters in polling places and mention the issue during precinct officer training.

“;I respectfully invite you to consider calling a press conference or otherwise taking any action appropriate for the benefit of all voters to provide additional voter education about the meaning of a 'yes,' 'no' and 'blank' vote for the constitutional questions,”; Cronin told Aiona.