The League of Women Voters of Hawaii and Common Cause Hawaii Disappointed by Fate of Voting By Mail

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  • Corie Tanida

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(Honolulu, HI)—HB1401 HD1 SD1 proposing voting by mail uniformly across all counties for all elections beginning in the year 2020 stalled today in a conference committee hearing after being reconvened five times. This is the third consecutive year that a vote by mail measure has made it to conference and did not become law. This occurred despite studies confirming an increase in voter turnout in states already using a universal vote by mail system. Hawaii has been dead last in voter tournout among all 50 states for the last five presidential elections.

“Our legislature missed another opportunity to improve voter turnout, ignored the advice of election officials, and most importantly ignored the wishes of the voters—the majority of whom are already voting this way,” said Janet Mason, Legislative Committee Co-Chair, League of Women Voters of Hawaii.

In Hawaii’s 2014 and 2016 general elections more than half of all registered voter chose to vote by mail instead of lining up at the polls. States like Colorado, Oregon, and Washington which currently use a mail in system report a recurring cost savings, and almost no instances of voter fraud.

“We should be reducing barriers to voting by seeking proven solutions like vote by mail in order to make voting more convenient and accessible,” said Corie Tanida, Executive Director, Common Cause Hawaii. “When Hawaii has the lowest voter turnout in the nation we have to wonder why this reform continues to fail.”

Common Cause Hawaii is a state chapter of the national Common Cause organization. Common Cause is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to protecting and improving Hawaii’s political process and holding government accountable to the public interest. For more information, please visit hi.commoncause.org.

The League of Women Voters of Hawaii is a non-partisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. For more information, visit www.lwv-hawaii.com.

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