Friday, August 27, 2010

Hawaii denied waiver on federal voting requirement for military


Hawaii received news today that the federal government has denied its request for a waiver on the requirement that military voters be given 45 days prior to an election to receive their ballots. Given that there are exactly 45 days between the primary election on September 18, 2010 and the general election on November 2, 2010, Hawaii does not meet the requirement.

The Associated Press/Honolulu Star-Advertiser story is here. Questions remain on what the Office of Elections will do to remedy the 2010 election situation.

The 45-day requirement is the reason the legislature passed HB2397 this year. The bill, enacted as Act 126, moves the primary election date up to the second Saturday in August in 2012. The Office of Elections did not feel it had enough time to move up the primary election date this year, opting to apply for the waiver.

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