Senate Committee on Judiciary and Labor (JDL) - chair: Hee, vice chair: Kokubun

Friday, March 16, 2007, Conference Room 229

Testifier: Jean Aoki, Legislative Chair, LWV-Hawaii

The League of Women Voters of Hawaii strongly supports HB 1133 HD1. .We have been long-time supporters of Election Day Registration because of the mostly positive results reported from states that have adopted this practice. Today, at least seven states, Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Wyoming allow election day registration. (There may be other states which have joined this list because there are ongoing efforts by citizen groups in many states including state Leagues and Common Cause to adopt EDR.) And according to a report released by Demos, an organization active in election reform among other issues, in the elections of 2004, four of the six states then with EDR topped the nation in voter turnout, and all six states had voter participation rates far higher than average. Several published studies are said to have predicted gains in turnout between 3% and 15%. Election day registration would also remove one of the most troubling allegations of voter suppression in some states—the removal of names off the registration lists because of their similarity to names of convicted felons among other things. For people who fear fraud, the requirement of showing two of several documents listed to prove place of residence should be sufficient to calm their fears. For pre-registered voters, the requirement is one document, so EDR sets a much higher standard for proof of identity and residence. We feel that it is important to capture the interest of first-time voters who become aware of the need to elect a certain candidate, or to support or oppose a ballot measure, after the registration period is over, and help them gain the satisfaction of having done their part to make certain policy decisions or to select our political leaders. And hopefully this will become a life-long habit, something one does as a matter of course. Hawaii needs Election Day Registration. We should be ashamed of our miserable participation record. We urge the passage of HB 1133 HD1. Thank you.