First-time voters must show ID at polls

First-time voters who did not provide identification when they registered to vote by mail will be required to produce identification when they show up at precincts to cast their ballots.

The state Office of Elections is enforcing the requirement at precincts for the first time this year as the state fine-tunes its compliance with the Help America Vote Act, a 2002 federal law approved in response to the disputed presidential election in 2000.

First-time voters will be expected to produce a state-issued driver’s license or identification card, a passport or a current utility bill, bank statement or government check with their name and address. People who do not have proper identification will be permitted to vote by provisional ballot, but their vote will not be counted unless they produce identification to county clerks within two days after the election.

Hawaii has long required that all voters show identification when they vote in person at precincts, and most voters provide a driver’s license or other photo identification. But voters who do not have identification are allowed to vote anyway if they can answer questions about personal information listed in precinct poll books, such as their birthday or address.

Hawaii elections officials say that voter identification has been a "non-issue" in the islands and describe the new requirement on first-time voters as largely ministerial. Glen Taka­ha­shi, the election administrator in Hono­lulu, said only about 1,100 first-time voters were flagged on Oahu during the August primary.

On the mainland, however, states that have adopted strict photo identification standards to deter voter fraud have faced accusations of voter suppression, since voters who do not have photo identification tend to be poor or racial or ethnic minorities.

"The bottom line is that this really isn’t a big problem, because most people have something in their wallet or their purse to positively identify themselves," said Rex Qui­dilla, a spokes­man for the state Office of Elections.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii, which has distributed voting rights guides, has called special attention to the fact that Hawaii voters do not have to show photo identification to vote. The interest group said Hawaii has among the most progressive voting laws in the country, but cautioned that even well-trained and well-intentioned poll workers can make mistakes.

"It’s important that neither HAVA, Hawaii law, nor federal law require government-issued I.D. in order to cast a vote," said Vanessa Chong, executive director of the ACLU Hawaii, in an email. "However, HAVA does include an identification provision for first-time registrations by mail — but a wide range of documents are acceptable. This documentation can be provided with the mailed registration, or the first time a voter appears at the polls.

"What will bear watching is whether, under this newly implemented HAVA provision, Hawaii’s potential new voters are, in fact, able to register and exercise their fundamental right to vote."

The deadline to register to vote is today.