Voter education waiting for state money
By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Capitol Bureau Chief
Despite a state voter turnout that ranked dead last in 2000 and national studies urging more voter education, Hawai'i legislators have been unwilling to put up $100,000 to teach voters how the election system works.
Lawmakers said they support efforts by the state Office of Elections to reach out to the voters and teach them the basics but said they haven't been able to find the money.
House Speaker Calvin Say said voter education efforts are important, "but with all of the competing interests, what should be the priority?"
Election officials originally sought $200,000 for a stripped-down voter education effort to explain or remind the public of basic facts such as the deadlines for registering to vote and how primary elections work.
Gov. Ben Cayetano's administration reduced that request to $100,000, and the state House cut the request further to $50,000.
This year may be particularly confusing for voters because state and county reapportionment has redrawn district boundaries for virtually all county, state and federal candidates.
Many people will be assigned to new polling places, and may not be aware of the change until Election Day, said Rex Quidilla, administrative assistant to Chief Elections Officer Dwayne Yoshina.
A number of election observers, including members of a task force set up last year to review Hawai'i election laws, have urged the state to do more to educate voters.
Jim Hall, who was appointed by the Senate Republicans to serve on the elections task force, said the "fiasco" in Florida during the 2000 presidential election prompted task forces in Florida, Iowa and other states to urge legislators to step up voter education.
In Hawai'i, "I'm just sure that they haven't thought about the issue very deeply. ... Democracy is our most important product, so to speak," Hall said.
Common Cause Hawai'i spokesman Larry Meacham said there were plenty of reports of confused voters who struggled with the process in recent elections. The state switched to a new type of ballot and vote-counting machine in 1996.
"Turnout is going down, and people need to know more about the issues and the candidates, and voter education can do that," Meacham said.
A recent U.S. Census report found that Hawai'i had the lowest voter turnout in the nation in the 1998 general election — 44.1 percent — and ranked near the bottom in voter registration.
There have also been problems when voters do go to the polls. In the 2000 primary election, more than 9,300 ballots were not counted because voters selected candidates from more than one party, which is not allowed under Hawai'i's primary system.
The voting machines that the state uses offer voters a chance to fix those kinds of mistakes, and elections officials said about 20,000 people did make corrections. But 9,300 voters left the polling places without correcting the problem, and their ballots were declared invalid.
The Office of Elections wants the money for brochures, radio spots, an expanded Web site, demonstrations of voting machines in malls, and other voter education activities.
Senate Ways and Means Chairman Brian Taniguchi said he isn't sure how much money the Senate will propose be spent on the effort. Later this month the House and Senate will try to agree on an amount and incorporate it into the final budget.
"From all indications it's a tough situation for them, for our legislators to come up with a budget," said Quidilla. "We are standing in line with health and safety concerns and education. Voting is a priority, but it also costs money."
Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
