STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2125

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2240

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 2240 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require:

(1) The Office of Elections to file an application with the Electronic Registration Information Center, Inc. (ERIC), for the State to be admitted as a member of the organization;

(2) The Office of Elections to share with each county the information and services made available by ERIC; and

(3) The State and each county to use the information and services made available by ERIC to verify their voter rolls.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Elections and one individual.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from sixty-one individuals.

Your Committee finds that the participation of eligible voters in elections is vital to American democracy, and an integral part of voter participation is the maintenance of accurate and current voter registration rolls. The Electronic Registration Information Center, Inc., or ERIC, is a nonprofit organization that was formed in 2012 to help states improve the accuracy of voter registration rolls by using secure data-matching tools. Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia participate in ERIC and receive, as member states, reports that show voters who have moved within the respective states, voters who have moved out of the state, voters with duplicate registrations within the state, voters who have passed away, and individuals who are potentially eligible to vote and have not registered to vote. Your Committee believes that providing another tool for election officials to maintain the accuracy of voter registration rolls is necessary to protect democracy in the State. This measure will ensure the integrity of voter registration rolls in the State by modernizing the State's voting system of verifying voter registration data.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Requiring the Office of Elections to file an application with ERIC by June 30, 2025, instead of January 1, 2025; and

(2) Increasing the appropriation amount to $125,000.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2240, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2240, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

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KARL RHOADS, Chair