Hawaii House Finance Committee will hold hearing on evoting 2/24 4:30pm

[tommcintyre]

URGENT!!! YOUR HELP NEEDED AGAIN


Dear Friends,



Urgent: Action re: Paper Audit Capability for Electronic Voting Machines



Congratulations! Your help has led to success so far!


NOW The Finance Committee in the Hawaii House of Representatives will hold a hearing
on HB 1740, HD 1 Relating to Electronic Voting on Thursday, February 24, 2005 at
4:30 p.m. in conference room 308. All electronic voting in Hawaii beginning with
the next election (2006) will be require a paper trail which can be verified by a
voter and audited if this bill passes.

You can help in one or more of the following ways:

1. Telephone the offices of these Senators today or as soon as possible and ask the
staff member to tell the representative that you support HB 1740 (because you
believe every vote should be counted and able to be audited.) Please be courteous.
Most legislators are supportive. Our goal is 1,000 phone calls. If you get an
answering machine, leave the message.

Rep. Dwight Takamine 586-6200 Chair, Finance Committee
Rep. Bertha Kawakami 586-6280 V. Chair, Finance Committee

and/or

2. You can submit a testimony supporting HB 1740, HD 1 to the Sergeant-at-Arms
(Oahu Fax [phone]) (Neighbor Islands Fax [phone])

and/or

3. You can attend the hearing: Thursday, February 24, 2005 at 4:30 p.m., Conference
room 308, Hawaii State Capitol.


and/or


4. You can submit testimony (see #2 above) and read it at the hearing.

Please do at least one of the above. If you have questions, telephone or e-mail me.
Phone: [phone] or
Email: [e-mail]<mailto:[e-mail]>

Richard Port
Democratic National
Committeeman
URGENT


Here is a guide to how to write testimony for a Hawaii Legislative hearing. It comes
from the Hawaii Legislature's website, where you can also find more information on
the process:
<http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/info/guide/process04.asp?press1=info&press2=guide>

Our House bill is HB1740. The Thursday hearing will be on the House bill, so the
testimony should be addressed to:

Representative Dwight Takemine, Chair
Representative Bertha Kawakami, Vice-Chair
House Finance Committee



See the information below for information on how to format your testimony.

NOTE: you do not need to be an expert on the issue to express your views on its
importance. We will have testifiers who have expertise on the issues. Additional
testimony demonstrates to the legislators that there is broader interest in the
issue than just the people who have already been meeting with them. If you DO have
relevant expertise or experience, mention that in your testimony.

The testimony should be faxed to the Sgt-at-Arms office at 586-6501 (OAHU) or
1-800-535-3859 (NEIGHBOR ISLANDS).
When faxing, please indicate that the testimony is for the House Finance Committee
hearing to be held February 24th at 4:30 pm. Faxed testimony should be sent 24 hours
in advance of the hearing, so it should be sent by 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, but if
you must send it late, please do so as it probably will be accepted.


If you cannot be present to read your testimony, still submit it because it WILL
have an impact. If you can be there to testify in person, that does add strength to
its impact. If you can come and be present without testifying, that also adds
strength to our impact as a group.


WRITTEN TESTIMONY OUTLINE
CHAIR OF THE HOUSE OR SENATE COMMITTEE
NAME OF THE HOUSE OR SENATE COMMITTEE

Your name
The group or organization that you represent (if any)
A contact number or address

Day and Date of Hearing

Your position on the measure and the bill or resolution number, and draft number
(if any)

Introduction:
1. Introduce who you are and/or the group or organization that you represent;
2. State the measure you are testifying on; and
3. State your position on the measure (e.g., "I am testifying in favor of/in support
of . . . ." or "I am testifying against/in opposition to .")

Content: State or list the reasons for taking your position, starting with the most
important or compelling reasons. Include any facts, figures, statements, and
experiences to support your position.

Closing:
1. Include any closing remarks; and
2. Reiterate your position on the measure (especially if you did not state your
position previously within the testimony).

SAMPLE WRITTEN TESTIMONY

To:
Representative Dwight Y. Takamine, Chair
Representative Noboru Yonamine, Vice-chair
Committee on Labor and Public Employment

From:
Hawaii Health Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition

Date:
Tuesday, March 19, 1991

Subject:
Support of SB 818 S.D. 1, Relating to Family Leave

The Hawaii Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition is part of a national
cooperative group of private and non-profit organizations and individuals committed
to improving maternal and infant health in the State of Hawaii through educational
and advocacy efforts. We strongly support SB 818 S.D. 1, Relating to Family Leave,
which would give employees working for employers of fifty or more employees, the
right to 3 months of unpaid parental leave for the birth or adoption of a son or
daughter of the employee.

People should not be forced to choose between work and family. We have a situation
in the U.S. of supporting children and family in our popular culture, but not fully
supporting them in our social policies. Compared to other industrialized nations,
the U.S. ranks poorly in several key indicators of children's and families' quality
of life. We need to develop social and working policies that adequately support new
lives, and the mental and physical health of families.

Even though a number of businesses are beginning to provide parental leave options,
this act would broaden this protection to more of Hawaii's workforce. Some will
argue that such a policy need not be mandated. Child labor laws had to be mandated,
and we are all glad they were. Our society decided that in some cases the family
needed legal protection. Unpaid parental leave is a modest but vital step toward
recognizing the relationship between job security and family security.

In expanding the options for Hawaii's labor force, we are creating a
health-promoting atmosphere and a foundation for future generations of healthy
people and healthy families. We urge the committee to pass SB 818 S.D. 1. Thank you
for this opportunity to testify.