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Media Contacts
Ariana Marmolejo
Regional Communications Strategist (West)
amarmolejo@commoncause.org
Common Cause’s network of national and state democracy reform experts are frequent media commentators. To talk with one of our experts, please reach out to any member of the press team above.
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Honolulu Civil Beat – May 17, 2021 – Community Voice – Remote Testimony Worked Well This Session. Now Let’s Make It Even Better
The 2021 Hawaii legislative session was momentous and not just for the issues addressed (or left unaddressed). It was conducted entirely remotely for the first time, given that the Capitol was closed to the public due to COVID-19.
For years, advocates have supported remote public testimony. This would seem reasonable and necessary, given our island state and with the Capitol located on Oahu. Hawaii and Maui county councils have had a hybrid system, allowing both in-person and remote testimony at satellite locations.
For years, advocates have supported remote public testimony. This would seem reasonable and necessary, given our island state and with the Capitol located on Oahu. Hawaii and Maui county councils have had a hybrid system, allowing both in-person and remote testimony at satellite locations.
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Common Cause Hawaii featured on ThinkTechHawaii
Sandy Ma's appearance on ThinkTech had her talking about Common Cause Hawaii legislative efforts on voting and ethics in Hawaii. The video of the show was streamed live and has been uploaded to YouTube. You can view the entire interview by clicking on the link below.
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Honolulu Star-Advertiser Letter to the Editor – March 18, 2021 – AVR won’t expose voters’ private data
There has been misleading messaging trying to scare Hawaii about automatic voter registration (AVR), but we know better. Some people, including elected officials, are saying that AVR will let voters’ private data become public. This is just plain false. Hawaii has a longstanding law in place specifically to protect people’s voter registration data — Hawaii Revised Statutes § 11-97 — and the current AVR bill moving in the Legislature, Senate Bill 159, SD1, will not change that. A county clerk may not disclose voter registration...
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Hawaii Public Radio The Conversation – March 10, 2021: Will Hawaii Adopt Automatic Voter Registration?
Common Cause on automatic voter registration
2020 saw changes at the Hawaii Office of Elections, which conducted its first election entirely by mail. Now, another innovation is on the docket - automatic voter registration. Sanday Ma of Common Cause Hawaii spoke to The Conversation's Savannah Harriman-Pote about what "automatic" voter registration actually means. SB 159 passed through the Senate and has made it to the House. If it passes there, Hawaii would join 20 other states that already have AVR.
Click on the...
2020 saw changes at the Hawaii Office of Elections, which conducted its first election entirely by mail. Now, another innovation is on the docket - automatic voter registration. Sanday Ma of Common Cause Hawaii spoke to The Conversation's Savannah Harriman-Pote about what "automatic" voter registration actually means. SB 159 passed through the Senate and has made it to the House. If it passes there, Hawaii would join 20 other states that already have AVR.
Click on the...
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Honolulu Civil Beat – March 04, 2021 – Hawaii’s Pro-Voting Reforms Are Strengthening Our Elections
Opinion by Sandy Ma, Common Cause Hawaii's Executive Director: Hawaii has a long and noble history of promoting voting among its people. During this Women’s History Month, we proudly remember that under the first Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom, women sat and voted alongside men in the legislative sessions of the House of Nobles.
Hawaii’s elected officials, especially state leadership in the House and Senate, understand that automatic voter registration will eliminate barriers to registering to vote, especially for...
Hawaii’s elected officials, especially state leadership in the House and Senate, understand that automatic voter registration will eliminate barriers to registering to vote, especially for...
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Honolulu Star-Advertiser – February 28, 2021 – Column: Automatic voter registration promotes the right to vote
It is encouraging that there are several bills before this legislative session that propose the next logical step of automatic voter registration (AVR). That includes bills introduced in the state House of Representatives by Speaker Scott Saiki and in the Senate by longtime AVR champion Sen. Karl Rhoads. One bill, introduced by Rep. Mark Nakashima, received unanimous support at its first hearing. Hopefully that legislative momentum will reverberate.
AVR is a policy tool that will allow our government to make the voter...
AVR is a policy tool that will allow our government to make the voter...
Press Release
Statement of Common Cause Hawaii Executive Director Sandy Ma on Arrest of Hawaii Proud Boy
Hawaii Proud Boy Founder Nicholas Ochs and all those who participated, encouraged, and incited the violent insurrection must be fully held accountable under the law.
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Honolulu Star-Advertiser Letter to the Editor – Intimidation of Hawaii voters can’t be allowed
Disturbing incidents of voter intimidation occurred throughout Hawaii on Election Day.
Arguably, the most egregious occurred at Honolulu Hale, where a group of people carrying a Proud Boys flag and a large stick approached the long line of voters, shouting, intimidating and threatening physical violence, according to Common Cause Hawaii election protection volunteers. The group left before police or staff arrived.
These reported actions are not just reprehensible, they are unacceptable in a democracy. This can...
Arguably, the most egregious occurred at Honolulu Hale, where a group of people carrying a Proud Boys flag and a large stick approached the long line of voters, shouting, intimidating and threatening physical violence, according to Common Cause Hawaii election protection volunteers. The group left before police or staff arrived.
These reported actions are not just reprehensible, they are unacceptable in a democracy. This can...
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Honolulu Star-Advertiser Column: Hawaii’s vote-by-mail works, but improvements are necessary
Hawaii’s vote-by-mail process adopted in 2019, prior to the advent of the coronavirus, was proven emphatically to work. It significantly increased Hawaii’s disgracefully low voter turnout rate, even in the middle of a pandemic. Voter turnout increased by more than 16% over the previous primary in a general election year, and by more than 14% over the prior general election!
Even though Hawaii’s mail-in balloting process was successful, improvements should still be made.
This column was authored by Sandy Ma,...
Even though Hawaii’s mail-in balloting process was successful, improvements should still be made.
This column was authored by Sandy Ma,...
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Honolulu Star-Advertiser – Long Election Day voter lines lead to complaints
Honolulu election officials said they anticipated more Oahu residents would show up on Election Day to vote at one of the two designated voter services centers on the island, just not 4,520 of them during that 12-hour span.
Common Cause Hawaii Executive Director, Sandy Ma, had warned elections officials since before the Aug. 8 primary that the eight voting sites across the state, including the two on Oahu, would be inadequate and that other policies established by the counties and state weren’t going to work either.
Common Cause Hawaii Executive Director, Sandy Ma, had warned elections officials since before the Aug. 8 primary that the eight voting sites across the state, including the two on Oahu, would be inadequate and that other policies established by the counties and state weren’t going to work either.
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HPR Website Article – Common Cause Warned That More Voter Centers Would Be Needed
Results in Hawaii’s first-ever vote by mail election were severely delayed last night by long lines of residents casting votes -- in person. While the goal was for all registered voters to cast their ballots by mail or drop box, traditional, in-person voting was still available on every island, but only at select locations. In fact, there were only eight polling places state-wide that allowed in person voting. There were hours long delays. Sandy Ma, with good governance group Common Cause Hawaii, through much of 2020 had raised a red flag...
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Honolulu Civil Beat – A Vital Democracy Demands Fairness And Participation
Certainly, vote-by-mail works for voters who have stable, long-standing addresses to which ballots can be mailed. Unfortunately, vote-by-mail does not work equally well for all. Housing-insecure voters, voters needing language assistance and those incarcerated who have not lost their right to vote are just a few of the voters that a mail-in voting system does not adequately reach, according to civil rights organizations such as the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and even proponents of mail-in ballots like Vote at Home.