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 information if it compromises the privacy of voters or interferes with the operations of elections, according
to Hawaii Administrative Rules § 3-177-160(c).

Don’t let scare tactics prevent Hawaii from advancing voter security and easing barrier to voter registration. Hawaii is better than that! This letter was submitted by Sandy Ma, Common Cause Hawaii's Executive Director.