Election Reform: A Step Forward But Still Much To Be Done
Gov. David Ige should quickly sign the bills that survived the session, including all-mail voting and the addition of more timely campaign finance reports.
As Gov. David Ige and his staff are scrutinizing the myriad of bills on his desk, here鈥檚 one he can take off his plate by signing it into law ASAP: , which proposes adding new campaign spending report deadlines in general election years.
If this becomes law, candidates for office would have to post who they are getting money from Oct. 1. That means the public and the media can learn more about these campaigns in the weeks leading up to the vote.
The Legislature, where no senator or representative voted against SB 138, liked the bill so much that it added a second reporting date of April 30.
As state law now stands, there is a reporting dark period from after a primary 鈥 the second Saturday in August 鈥 until 10 days before a general election on the first Tuesday in November.
SB 138 is the idea of the state Campaign Spending Commission. Kristin Izumi-Nitao, the agency鈥檚 executive director, told lawmakers in support of the bill that the growing popularity of absentee voting warrants new reporting deadlines. Absentee ballots are mailed out to voters 21 days before an election.
鈥淭his bill will give voters in the general election, who choose to vote by mail, the ability to access the most current campaign finance information before the voters receive their absentee ballots in the mail,鈥 she testified.
SB 138 is among a handful of good government bills that survived the session. Two others deserving of Ige鈥檚 swift signature are enacting voting by mail statewide by next year鈥檚 election, and , which would require recounts in close elections.
We say a 鈥渉andful鈥 of good government bills because another dozen government reform bills bit the dust.
They include measures聽 when it comes to contributions by state and county contractors, for campaign finance violations, requiring candidates for governor, mayor or president , prohibiting sitting governors and mayors from , forbidding former legislators and executive branch employees from for two years after leaving those jobs, on some state employees and officers participating in political activities, and people to vote when they apply for a driver鈥檚 license or identification card.
These bills had obvious merit. House leaders even held a press conference March 6 to praise the bills.
Also going down in the 2019 session were bills calling for in primaries (in Hawaii, often the only races that matter) and making public the of state agency executive directors.
As is often the case, the Hawaii Legislature passes government reform legislation in baby steps. All mail-in-voting is a giant step, however, and so are mandatory recounts and greater transparency in campaign finance.
But the need remains to keep the pressure on lawmakers in the 2020 session, when all the dead bills get a second chance.
