Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 10, 1 ʻOkakopa 2006 — Voting is a right and a privilege [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Voting is a right and a privilege

The Constitution of the United States grants every man the right and privilege to vote. Four Amendments have been added to the Articles of Confederation to ensure that citizen's rights are not denied or abridged: XV AMENDMENT - Passed by Congress February 26, 1869 and ratified February 3, 1870. Sec. 1 - The right of citizens of the United State to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude (In Rice v. Cayetano the Supreme Court declared Hawai'i law violated this amendment due to race. Dissenting justices John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the decision ignores history of Hawai'i and government efforts to compensate for past bias against indigenous people.) XIX AMENDMENT - Passed by Congress June 4, 1919 and ratified August 18, 1920. The right of citizens of the Untied States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. (Women won the right to vote.) XXIV AMENDMENT - Passed by Congress August 27, 1962 and ratified January 23, 1964. Sec. 1 - The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for eleetors for President or Vice President, or for Senators or Representatives in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to poll tax or other tax. (By states enforcing the poll tax, it denied the original draft of the Constitution. But look how many years it took to set it straight.) XXVI AMENDMENT - Passed by Congress March 23, 1971 andratified July 1, 1971. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen

years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United State or any State on account of age. The State of Hawai'i census figures for November 2000 showed that out of the state population of 1,211,537, the voting age population of 909,000 had only 533,860 registered voters. Recent census figures show that the Native Hawaiian voting population in Hawai'i is numbered at 157,685 or 66 percent of the total Native Hawaiian population. This is a sizeable voting bloc. The Native Hawaiian voting population needs to realize its potential. Since all state legislative seats, both federal House seats, almost all county councils and the seats for governor and lieutenant governor will be up for election this November. The Native Hawaiian voting population ean have a tremendous influence on the future of our state. Project Vote Smart is a nonprofit organization that monitors all eleetions in all states. They refuse all donations from corporations, political action committees, unions or any speeial interest groups. You ean access their web site at: www.vote-smart. org. After candidate filing dates, you are able to get total information on all persons running for city, state and federal offices, the candidate's biographies, voting records and where they stand on issues. All seated elected persons receive a NPAT (National Political Awareness Test) to fill out as to what they support in all facets of politics. Of our federal representatives, only Patsy Mink completed the 2000 NPAT. Of our state elected representatives, 6 of 25 state senators completed the 2000 NPAT and 12 of 51 House representatives completed the 2000 NPAT. Could it be that they are waiting to see whieh way the wind blows before they make their position known and then decide how they will vote? Remember their campaign pledges. Pay attention to their record. Make an intelligent ehoiee for the candidate that will best support your concerns. As with the Hawaiian ō'ō, you must dig in to get the information necessary so the proper candidate ean receive your vote. E

LED 'ELELE ■ TRUSTEE M ESSAGES

Donald B. Cataluna TrustEE, Kaua'i and Ni'ihau