STAND. COM. REP. NO. 858

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 914
                                        




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

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

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO VOTE COUNT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to conform section 11-151,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, to a 1997 Hawaii Supreme Court ruling by
specifying that ballots cast includes blank ballots and overvotes
when tabulating the results of a ballot question regarding the
convening of a constitutional convention.

     Your Committee finds that in March 1997 the Hawaii Supreme
Court ruled that blank ballots and overvotes count toward total
ballots cast regarding a question for a constitutional
convention.  Your Committee further finds that counting blank
ballots and overvotes toward total ballots cast on that question
ensures that the important step of convening a constitutional
convention will not be taken unless a true majority of all voters
voting that day support it.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
Office of Elections, the League of Women Voters, and Common Cause
Hawaii.

     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.

 
a                                                     
 
                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 858
                                   Page 2


914 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be placed on
the calendar for Third Reading.

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



                                   ______________________________
                                   AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair

 
a