Across the board budget cuts have taken a toll on almost every state agency in Hawaii, but perhaps none have been so drastically affected as the state Office of Elections. With only approximately $33,000 left in its budget for the 2010 elections (2008 required $517,000), it might mean that the elections will be BYOB (bring your own ballot. You know, like you print out a boarding pass at home before heading to the airport.
At this point, budget cuts for the Hawaii state Office of Elections reveal that not only do they not have enough funds to prepare for the general elections next year, they probably do not have enough to keep the lights on past September 2009.
The Office sent a report to the Legislature on June 15 on proposed precinct closings as cost savings, but exactly one month later it seems the office faces a far more desperate challenge: the governor's mandated budget cuts.
With only $33,000 left in the kitty for 2010, according to its own report, the Office of Elections has suffered a 94% cut. They have been effectively neutered. For example, in 2008, approximately $120,000 alone was needed to transport ballots securely throughout the state.
As to operational funds, only about $14,000 remains for this year, and monthly expenses run around $7,000. When the money is gone, the electricity goes off.
Add to that—key positions such as warehouse and IT staff remain unfilled and (without money) unfillable. If hiring remains frozen, an election is not possible.
The office is also challenged by some recent legal issues. As a result of a Maui court decision in Babson v. Cronin, Judge Joseph E. Cardoza granted an injunction against Hawaii’s use of electronic voting machines and against the illegal transmission of vote results over the Internet. The state will have to draw up and have administrative rules in place before the election, a process that includes holding public hearings. Without staff or funds, it is hard to see how those rules will be ready.
There are other suits (ES&S v. Cronin, Hart InterCivic v. ES&S, Cronin v. ES&S) that will also require attention. These relate to procurement of the electronic machines that now cannot be used anyway.
The budget still includes $2.8 million allocated by the Legislature for voting machines, but that money cannot be diverted to operating expenses.
Of course, there will be elections in 2010. Governor Linda Lingle will have to find funds to restore the operational capacity of the Office of Elections before the feds come knocking on her door.
It’s unfortunate but she will likely cut more essential social services so that we can vote next year.
For readers living on Oahu, planning for the 2010 elections is on the agenda for the Elections Commission meeting to be held on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 10 a.m. in Room 309 of the State Capitol. Public testimony will be accepted. This will be the first opportunity that the administration will have to provide a proposal to fund the 2010 elections.