News & Commentary

Here is the low-down on voting with a criminal record in Hawai‘i.

This piece originally ran in Honolulu Civil Beat on Tuesday, October 30, 2018 under the title "Protect State Constitution By Voting 'No' On ConCon":

The

For more information, please visit our 2016 Voting Rights Guide online!The ACLU of Hawaiʻi learned that Monday, October 10, 2016, Hawaii's deadline for voter registration applications for the upcoming General Election, also happened to fall on a Federal holiday (Discoverers' Day) with no mail service.The Hawaiʻi Office of Elections, noting the conflicting dates, had decided to only accept registration forms postmarked by Saturday, October 8, 2016, which is 31 days from election day. This date does not comply with the standards set by the National Voter Registration Act, which requires the State to accept all applications postmarked no later than 30 days from election day.Because the window allowed by the Office of Elections was shorter than required by law, and registration forms mailed by the October 10 deadline were not going to be accepted, some Hawaiʻi voters were in potential danger of being disenfranchised in the upcoming November 8, 2016 General Election. The ACLU stepped in.The ACLU of Hawaii wrote a demand letter to the Department of the Attorney General and the Office of Elections on Tuesday, October 18, 2016.On Wednesday, October 19, 2016, Attorney General Chin promptly responded by letter, affirming that election officials will accept voter registration forms postmarked Tuesday, October 11, 2016 – thereby bringing Hawaiiʻs elections calendar into compliance with the National Voter Registration Act.Legal Director Mateo Caballero said: "This is a win for voting rights – fundamental to our democracy and protected by the Constitution. It is important that the law is followed  so that all voters have fair and equal access to the polls. In fact, we are not the only state that needed to adjust deadlines this year. We are glad that the Attorney General took swift corrective action, avoiding the need for further legal action."

Case: Lathers et al. v. Abercrombie et al.

A lawsuit filed Thursday, August 21 by Pahoa residents and the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai‘i Foundation (“ACLU”) asks the State Supreme Court to allow any registered voter affected by Tropical Storm Iselle to cast a vote that will be included in the August 2014 primary results. The lawsuit also asks the Court to find that the Legislature failed in its constitutional obligation to protect the fundamental right to vote by delegating all decisions relating to natural disasters to the Office of Elections. The lawsuit concerns the fundamental right to vote and the disenfranchisement of hundreds and potentially thousands of affected voters. The lawsuit does not challenge the results of any particular race nor does it endorse any campaign.On August 6, 2014, Governor Abercrombie signed an emergency proclamation, in advance of two anticipated storms projected to impact Hawai‘i: Hurricanes Iselle and Julio. The proclamation – valid from August 6 through August 15 – included a statement that “the danger of disaster is of such magnitude to warrant preemptive and protective action in order to provide for the health, safety, and welfare of the people[.]”Facing massive damage from Iselle on August 8, and thousands of Hawai‘i County residents dealing with historic flooding, power outages, property damage, and road closures – some of which continue even now – the Chief Elections Officer determined that the primary would go on as scheduled on August

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