Editorial
Voting reform need not be a rush job

It is quite clear that there is not a high level of enthusiasm within the world of elected officialdom for a thorough review of Hawai'i's voting process.

As reported by Capitol Bureau Chief Kevin Dayton, a special commission set up to review state election laws has stalled and may not be able to get much work done in time for next year's elections.

While the slow start is a disappointment, it need not be a disaster.

For starters, if there are specific problems with our election laws today, the Legislature is perfectly equipped to make fixes without the advice of a citizen commission.

Two issues that deserve consideration this coming session, in fact, include a ballot process that makes it easy to invalidate by voting for more than one party and our lack of automatic recount provision.

Despite some problems in 1998 with new voting machines, the mechanics of our election system are basically sound. There was for instance in Florida, for wholesale reform of the system.

Where there is a need for wholesale change is not on the mechanical side, but on the political participation side. For a state that takes politics so seriously, Hawai'i's voter participation record — particularly in recent years — has been dismal.

This is not because our voting process is complicated or daunting. It is because our citizens, for one reason or another, have lost interest in participating in the political process.

Perhaps they are simply satisfied with the status quo and see no need to waste time voting to change things. But the more likely explanation is that the direct connection between the act of voting — the political process — and their own well being is no longer apparent.

If the voting reform commission can spend some time on this phenomenon, whenever it finally gets going, it will provide a valuable service indeed.