Shouldn't OHA elections be democratic?

Last year, with your help, we protected the so-called "ceded" lands from being sold. This year, we want to do one simple thing.

We want to democratize Office of Hawaiian Affairs elections. We hope you will help us.

QUESTION: What's wrong with the current OHA elections process?

ANSWER: Under the current OHA elections process, a candidate can win an OHA election even if he gets only 30% of the votes.


QUESTION: But, shouldn't the winner of important elections have support from more than 30% of the voters?

ANSWER: Yes! Justice, fairness and democratic principles all require that winning candidates in elections have support from at least 51% of the voters. We have to democratize OHA elections.


QUESTION: How can I democratize OHA elections?

ANSWER: You can democratize OHA elections in less than 3 easy minutes.
Send e-mail testimony to the House Finance Committee today! CLICK HERE for a testimony template.


Senate Bill 2378 SD2 will democratize OHA elections. CLICK HERE to quickly learn more about Senate Bill 2378 SD2. Come back and visit us often for updates.

SB 2378 SD2 Testimony template for FINANCE COMMITTEE

Copy and paste the below text and send it to FINtestimony@capitol.hawaii.gov BE SURE TO ADD YOUR NAME.


[ADD YOUR NAME]
House Finance Committee
March 29, 2010, 6pm
SB 2378 SD2

Dear Committee Chair Representative Marcus Oshiro, Vice-Chair Marilyn Lee and Committee Members,


My name is [ADD YOUR NAME]. I humbly urge you to support Senate Bill 2378 SD2 because it democratizes the elections for Office of Hawaiian Affairs (“OHA”).

An OHA candidate who gets only 30% of the votes can win the election under the current OHA elections process. This means that although 70% of voters may vote against a candidate, that candidate can still be elected. Clearly this elections process is inconsistent with the values of a democracy and needs to be changed.

OHA is an important governmental agency and candidates elected to OHA should have the support of more than 30% of the votes.

Please pass SB 2378 SD2 with a start date of January 1, 2012 instead of 2014.

Thank you for your time.

You have political muscle. We hope you flex it.

Aloha!

Last year, with your help, we protected the so-called "ceded" lands from being sold. This year, we want to do one simple thing.

Together, we can make elections for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs better. We hope you will help us.

QUESTION: What's wrong with the current OHA elections process?

ANSWER: Under the current OHA elections process, a candidate can win an OHA election even if he gets only 30% of the votes.


QUESTION: But, shouldn't the winner of important elections have support from more than 30% of the voters?

ANSWER: Yes! Justice and fairness requires that winning candidates in elections have support from at least 51% of the voters. We have to make OHA elections better.


QUESTION: How can I make OHA elections better?

ANSWER: You can make OHA elections better in less than 3 easy minutes.

* Call Representative Marcus Oshiro at (808) 586-6200 and kindly ask him to schedule Senate Bill 2378 SD2 for a Finance Committee hearing.
* If you need a phone script to help you, CLICK HERE.


Senate Bill 2378 SD2 will make OHA elections better. CLICK HERE to quickly learn more about Senate Bill 2378 SD2. After the bill is scheduled for its last hearing, we'll need you to spend another 2-3 minutes. But we'll e-mail you those details later.

Why Senate Bill 2378 SD2 is important

Senate Bill 2378 SD2 democratizes Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) elections.

We need to democratize OHA elections, because the current elections process allows a candidate to win even if that candidate only gets 30% of the votes. We explain this below.

OHA ELECTION SCENARIO
Let's say we have four candidates (A, B, C & D) running for the same OHA trustee position and only 4,000 people vote for that position.

• Candidate A gets 1,200 votes (30%),


• Candidate B gets 1,100 votes (27.5%),


• Candidate C gets 850 votes (21.25%), and


• Candidate D gets 850 votes (21.25%).

Current OHA Election Process
Candidate A has only 30% of the votes (less than half), but wins the election because Candidate A has more votes than anyone else. Clearly more people (70%) voted against Candidate A, but the current election process can reward the candidate who only gets 30% of the votes. This happens because there is only one "special" election rather than a primary and a general election.

OHA Election Process after SB 2378 SD2
SB 2378 provides for a primary and general election for OHA Trustee. The new process would take the two candidates with the most votes (candidates A and B in the above scenario) and have them run against each other in a general election. The OHA general election would occur at the same time as the general elections for county, state, and federal offices. General elections take place in November of an election year.

Assuming that 4,000 people vote again for that particular OHA position in the general election, then, the candidate with at least 2,040 votes (51% or more) will win the election. In other words, the candidate who gets elected into office is the candidate that the majority of voters chose.

Senate Bill 2378 SD2 makes OHA elections better. But it's up to you to tell lawmakers that you want better elections for OHA.

You can make OHA elections better in just 2-3 minutes. Just call Representative Marcus Oshiro at 586-6200 and kindly ask him to schedule SB 2378 SD2 for a Finance Committee hearing. If you don't know exactly what to say, just CLICK HERE.

Phone Script for Calling Representative Marcus Oshiro

Representative Marcus Oshiro can be called at (808) 586-6200.

Hello, my name is ____________________. I'm calling Representative Marcus Oshiro to request that he schedule Senate Bill 2378 SD2 for a hearing with the House Finance Committee. My family and I would like to see Senate Bill 2378 pass out of the House Finance Committee. Please give Representative Marcus Oshiro this message for me. If he has any questions, he can contact me at _________________. Thank you very much.

e-mail template for Marilyn Lee

send e-mail to replee@Capitol.hawaii.gov

Dear Rep. Lee,

Hello, my name is (insert your name). I'm writing to you because OHA elections should be more democratic. Since you're the Vice-Chair of the House Finance Committee, I request that you arrange for SB 2378 SD2 to be heard by the Finance Committee. SB 2378 SD2 will make OHA elections better by providing a primary and general election. My family and I would like to see Senate Bill 2378 SD2 passed out of the Finance Committee. If you have any questions, feel free to reply to this e-mail.

Sincerely,

(insert your name)

Phone Script for Calling Representative Marilyn Lee

Representative Marilyn Lee can be called at (808) 586-9460.

Hello, my name is ____________________. I'm calling Representative Marilyn Lee because I want to request that she get Senate Bill 2378 SD2 scheduled for a hearing with the House Finance Committee. As you know, Representative Lee is the Vice-Chair of the House Finance Committee. My family and I would like to see Senate Bill 2378 passed out of the House Finance committee. Please give Representative Lee this message for me. If he has any questions, he can contact me at _________________. Thank you very much.