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Advertiser: “State elections office resolution is critical”

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:04:57 -1000

In an editorial at http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20091015/OPINION01/910150307/1104/opinion/State-elections-office-resolution-is-critical the Honolulu Advertiser speaks out on the current situation at the Office of Elections:

“The state Elections Commission, witnessing a hail of criticism about Chief Elections Officer Kevin Cronin, this week decided to send Cronin a letter expressing its "displeasure."
Surely there needs to be more action than that if a disastrous election cycle is to be averted next fall. The commission, which hired Cronin, needs to take a hard look at their options and come up with a plan to close the gaps in election planning in time for next fall.”
We certainly hope that more than a letter will be forthcoming from the Elections Commission in the near future - maybe even a roadmap to a successful 2010 election. One does not appear to be on its way from the Office of Elections.

Unprecedented: Four County Clerks blast Cronin

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:39:00 -1000

In an article for the Honolulu Advertiser, Derrick DePledge quotes our County Clerks:

"The chief elections officer's decision-making exhibits a lack of understanding and appreciation of the roles and responsibilities of the counties and other agencies. This places the elections at risk due to an inability to secure trust and cooperation," said Peter Nakamura, the county clerk on Kaua'i, who was also speaking for Jeffrey Kuwada, the county clerk on Maui; Kenneth Goodenow, the county clerk on the Big Island; and Bernice Mau, the city clerk in Honolulu.

This should be considered a wake-up call for the State. These individuals have more experience with Hawai’i elections than any legislator or activist, and have come together in an unheard-of solidarity across the Islands to be sure that the problems are heard.

We at Safe Vote Hawai’i truly hope the Election Commission will take this call to action seriously. Time is short to prepare for 2010.

Office of Elections ‘responds’

Wed, 7 Oct 2009 21:23:41 -1000

Two new RFP addenda are meant to respond to Judge Cardoza’s injunction against purchasing electronic voting machines without sufficient administrative rules in place to govern their use and the use of RFP requirements as substitutes, as well as a prohibition against broadcasting results over the phone. However the ‘responses’ (posted on the Office of Elections website http://hawaii.gov/elections as Addendum B and Addendum C to the RFP) really just state that timelines and deadlines previously stipulated are now on hold pending the outcome of the current court cases.

And that’s the crux of our crisis. Our election is on hold, pending an outcome. Pending a budget. And pending the one thing we really need: A leader we can believe in to take us through the next election.

Ongoing crisis deepens at the Office of Elections

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:45:30 -1000

In an article for the AP, writer Herbert Sample details the current situation at the Office of Elections. Quoting the League of Women Voters and the Democratic Party as they detail their concerns, it’s apparent that a consensus is being reached: Mr. Cronin is not part of the solution, and appears to be a significant part of the problem.

By continuing to challenge the ruling throwing out the ludicrously-priced Hart contract Mr. Cronin wastes time and money that should be used to prepare for the upcoming 2010 election. By failing to address Judge Cardoza’s concerns, Mr. Cronin appears to be playing a waiting game that will not go well for Hawai’i or its voters. With nobody at the helm and a storm approaching, we begin to wonder how long this situation can go on?

Hawai’i Election budget crunch

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 20:07:04 -1000

Over at his DailyKos blog, Larry discusses the budget shortage: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/7/17/754782/-Hawaii-2010-elections-put-in-jeopardy-by-budget-slashing

The Office of Elections is experiencing several issues at once. Certainly a major contributor to the problem is the weak economy and Hawai’i State budget crunch, however it goes beyond that.

It’s not helping that Chief Elections Officer Cronin continues to insist on the Hart InterCivic solution. At $52.9 million over the contract, each election will cost more than seven million. ES&S offered just three million for the ’08 election, and $18 million for the full contract.

For more discussion of the problem, you can see the Ways and Means Committee interview Mr. Cronin at http://disappearednews.com/2009/09/video-of-office-of-elections-hearing.html (note the comments section below the video)

Paper or Electronic? Derrick DePledge on the choice

Wed, 8 Oct 2008 19:54:03 -1000

In his blog at http://thenotebook.honadvblogs.com/2008/10/07/paper-or-electronic Mr. DePledge reviews the 2008 primary. He notes that just 7.5% of voters chose to vote electronically in this election.

Reasons for the lack of interest are discussed; certainly we at Safe Vote Hawai’i know our reasons for avoiding purely electronic machines - the lack of transparency, the need for a secure verifiable audit trail, the crushing expense of acquiring, using and maintaining the voting machines, the prevalence of bugs in the software - but voters also cite their fears of vote security and general discomfort with technology as barriers to using the machines.

Safe Vote Hawaii radio interviews

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 19:01:54 -1000

Last week Safe Vote Hawaii participated in two radio interviews, one for http://www.voiceofthevoters.org/ and one for Malama Kaua’i http://malamakauai.org/getRadio.php

Many questions related to the unique positions Hawai’i holds - our elections are more outsourced than other states, and our Office of Elections runs the elections for the entire state, rather than a county-by-county basis like the majority of the nation.

Progressive Democrats posting

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:57:45 -1000

Founding member Bart Dame made a post to the Progressive Democrats of Hawai’i blog at http://pd-hawaii.com/blog/2008/08/19/continuing-concerns-with-hawaii-election-system/ which details the concerns which still face Hawai’i in the upcoming elections.

Some of the topics covered:
- The withdrawal of Kirk Caldwell from the House race, the disqualification of both Kirk and Chrystn Eades and the selection of Isaac Choy as a replacement.
- The decision of Chief Elections Officer Kevin Cronin to order the ballots be printed without allowing the political parties an opportunity to review them first AS REQUIRED BY LAW.
- The award of the voting system contract to one vendor, Hart Inter-Civic for $52 million, when another qualified vendor, ES&S, was offering a similar service for $18 million.
- Transmission of election results inter-island via the Internet
- Inadequate audit standards for the paper records.
Read more, including the comments, here: http://pd-hawaii.com/blog/2008/08/19/continuing-concerns-with-hawaii-election-system/

Hart bid ruled invalid, new system to be chosen after this cycle

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:09:00 -1000

A ruling from the State has confirmed what seemed clear to many observers, that the 8-10 year, 43-52 million dollar deal with Office of Elections sweetheart Hart InterCivic was in “bad faith” and “clearly unreasonable”. See the posting at http://xrl.us/ortid

Many continue to call for Cronin’s replacement, but the problem appears to be more systemic - the procurement process always happens at the last minute, always happens in secret, and in post-decision scrutiny always appears to happen for the wrong reasons.

It’s time for Hawai’i to have elections that are Transparent, Auditable, Secure and Accurate. Nothing less is acceptable for our 50th State.

ES&S challenge rejected

Thu, 6 Mar 2008 20:10:01 -1000

Despite a bid that was more than double that of ES&S, the Hawai’i Office of Elections decision to use Hart InterCivic optical scan and DRE systems will stand, according to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin (full article at http://starbulletin.com/2008/03/04/news/story04.html ).

ES&S contended that pricing was under-represented in the bid judging, resulting in the state awarding a contract that was ‘exorbitant and unreasonable.’

We can’t say we disagree. Even more than the price, is the duration of the contract - Ten years is far too long to award a contract in the current situation, especially when Federal standards are in flux.