STATE OF
HAWAII
OFFICE
OF ELECTIONS
802 LEHUA
AVENUE
PEARL
CITY, HAWAII 96782
The Petition Process
to Qualify a
Political Party for
Election Ballot Purposes
in the State of
Hawaii
This document is provided for
informational purposes only. Refer to
Sections 11‑61 through 11‑65 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS)
for information dealing with political parties.
PETITION
FOR QUALIFICATION (HRS §11‑62)
1. Groups desiring to qualify a new
political party in Hawaii for election ballot purposes should contact the chief
election officer to request the petition.
2. Prior to receiving the petition, the
group must complete an application for the petition and provide the following:
(1) The name of the group;
(2) The address and telephone number of the
group; and
(3) The name and telephone number of a
contact person for the group.
3. The petition for qualification as a
political party shall:
(1) Declare the intention of the signers
thereof to qualify as a political party and state the name of the new party;
(2) Contain signatures of currently
registered voters comprising not less than one‑tenth of one per cent
of the total registered voters of the state as of the last preceding General
Election (691,356 registered in 2008 General Election = 692 signatures
required); and
(3) Be upon a form prescribed and provided
by the chief election officer.
4. The petition shall be filed by 4:30
p.m. on the 170th day prior to the next Primary Election with the chief election
officer in the Office of Elections. This
deadline is
April
1, 2010.
5. The petition shall be accompanied by
the following:
(1) The names and addresses of the officers
of the central committee of the political party;
(2) The names and addresses of the officers
of the respective county committees of the political party; and
(3) The party rules.
6. If no objections are raised by 4:30
p.m. on the 20th business day after the petition has been filed, the petition
shall be approved.
PARTY RULES (HRS §11‑63)
1. Party
rules must be submitted with the petition forms when they are filed. All other political parties must file party
rules by 4:30 p.m. on the 150th day prior to the next Primary Election with the
chief election officer in the Office of Elections. This deadline is April 21, 2010.
2. All
amendments to party rules shall be filed not later than 4:30 p.m. on the 30th
day after their adoption.
3. All
rules and amendments must be certified by an authorized officer of the party,
and upon filing, shall become public record.
WITHDRAWAL
OF SIGNATURES FROM THE PETITION (HRS §11‑6)
A voter who signs a petition and
seeks to withdraw his/her signature from the petition may do so if the petition
has not yet been filed with the chief election officer.
1. A
voter who seeks to withdraw the voter's signature from a petition must submit a
notice in writing to the chief election officer any time before the filing of
the petition. The notice shall include
the voter's:
(1) Name;
(2) Social
security number;
(3) Residence
address;
(4) Date
of birth; and
(5) Signature
with the name under which the voter is registered to vote.
2. Upon
receipt of that notice containing the information required by HRS §11‑6,
the chief election officer shall notify the group or individual to whom the
petition was issued and the signature of the individual shall not be counted.
OBJECTIONS (HRS §11‑62)
1. The
petition shall be subject to a hearing under Chapter 91 should objections be
raised by the chief election officer or any political party. Objections must be filed not later than 4:30
p.m. on the twentieth business day after the petition has been filed. The chief election officer may extend the
objection period up to an additional ten business days, if the group of persons
desiring to qualify as a political party is provided with notice of extension
and the reasons therefore. All decisions
shall be rendered not later than 4:30 p.m. on the thirtieth day after filing of
the objection or not later than 4:30 p.m. on the one hundredth day prior to the
Primary Election, whichever occurs first.
If no objections are raised by the deadline, the petition shall be
approved.
2. The
chief election officer may check the names of any persons on the petition to
see that they are registered voters and may check the validity of their signatures. Upon filing, the petition shall become public
record.
ELECTION DATES
The
Primary Election will be held on Saturday, September 18, 2010.
The General
Election will be held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010.
1. The petition can only be verified on the basis
of the information contained on it.
a. The information is compared with the
information contained in the official voter register.
b. If a voter provides information that is
illegible or inconsistent with the information in the official voter
register, this may result in the signature not being counted.
Examples
of this are the voter provides an incorrect address, social security number, or
date of birth. This frequently results
from illegible handwriting or a voter transposing numbers.
2. Do not separate the petition sets. Use black ink for all signatures.
3. The voter’s signature must match the signature on
his/her most recent voter registration affidavit. This signature will be used for any necessary
signature validity checks.
4. The voter’s residence address
where he/she is registered to vote must be recorded.
The
voter should not use an address to which the voter has moved subsequently to
registering and has failed to make the change of registration required by
law.
Mailing
addresses are not acceptable.
5. If you need additional petition sets, contact the Office of
Elections at (808) 453-VOTE (8683).
Allow a minimum of five business days for preparation of the petition
sets.
This document is
intended for informational purposes only and should not be used as an authority
on the Hawaii election law and deadlines.
Requirements and/or deadlines may change pending changes in
legislation. Consult the Hawaii Revised
Statues and other sources for more detailed and accurate requirements.
FSBO121J - Rev.
05/12/2009