LIHU‘E — The Elections Division of the Office of the County Clerk on Wednesday has mailed every properly registered voter a signature card, according to a county news release. Signatures on the cards will be captured electronically and used to
LIHU‘E — The Elections Division of the Office of the County Clerk on Wednesday has mailed every properly registered voter a signature card, according to a county news release.
Signatures on the cards will be captured electronically and used to verify the signatures on absentee ballots and other official voting and election documents.
Signature cards are personalized and meant specifically for the voter named on the card so only the named voter is authorized to sign it — no exceptions, the release states.
“We are asking all registered voters to personally sign their card within the signature rectangle and return it to our office as soon as possible,” said County Clerk Ricky Watanabe.
Completed signature cards can be hand-delivered to the Elections Division at 4386 Rice Street in Lihu‘e or returned by postage-free mail.
“More voters are opting to vote by mail and though it is convenient and accessible for voters, it is a labor-intensive process for our office because each absentee ballot application and ballot envelope must contain the voter’s signature which our office must authenticate before the application is processed or the ballot is counted,” said Watanabe.
“Verifying voter signatures is the most time-consuming phase of the mail voting process so we are developing a digitized file of voter signatures to expedite the increased workload,” Watanabe added.
For more information, call the Elections Division at 241-4800.
