PART I. 
GENERAL PROVISIONS



 



§11-1  Definitions.  Whenever used in
this title, the words and phrases in this title shall, unless the same is
inconsistent with the context, be construed as follows:



"Ballot", a ballot including an
absentee ballot is a written or printed, or partly written and partly printed
paper or papers containing the names of persons to be voted for, the office to
be filled, and the questions or issues to be voted on.  A ballot may consist of
one or more cards or pieces of paper, or one face of a card or piece of paper,
or a portion of the face of a card or piece of paper, depending on the number
of offices, candidates to be elected thereto, questions or issues to be voted
on, and the voting system in use.  It shall also include the face of the
mechanical voting machine when arranged with cardboard or other material within
the ballot frames, containing the names of the candidates and questions to be
voted on.



"Chief election officer", the
individual appointed by the elections commission pursuant to section 11-1.6 to
supervise state elections.



"Clerk", the county clerks of the
respective counties.



"County", the counties of Hawaii,
Maui, Kauai, and the city and county of Honolulu, as the context may require. 
For the purposes of this title, the county of Kalawao shall be deemed to be
included in the county of Maui.



"Election", all elections, primary,
special primary, general, special general, special, or county, unless otherwise
specifically stated.



"Election officials", precinct
officials and other persons designated as officials by the chief election
officer.



"Hawaiian", any descendant of the
aboriginal peoples inhabiting the Hawaiian Islands which exercised sovereignty
and subsisted in the Hawaiian Islands in 1778, and which peoples thereafter
have continued to reside in Hawaii.



"Office", an elective public office.



"Political party" or
"party", a political party qualified under part V of this chapter.



"Precinct", the smallest political
subdivision established by law.



"Primary", a preliminary election in
which the voters nominate candidates for office as provided for in chapter 12.



"Runoff election" means any single
election required by county charters preceded by an election that failed to
elect a candidate.



"Service bureau" means a firm
registered to do business in the State and whose principal business is
furnishing data processing services.



"Special election", any single
election required by law when not preceded by an election to nominate those
candidates whose names appear on the special election ballot.



"Special primary election" and
"special general election", elections held only (a) whenever any
vacancy occurs in the offices of United States senator, United States
representative, state senator, or state representative because of failure to
elect a person at an uncontested general election or (b) as specified in county
charters.



"Voter", any person duly registered
to vote.



"Voter turnout", means the total
number of voters at an election as determined by the number of ballot cards
tabulated by the computer or of paper ballots counted by the precinct
officials.  When there is more than one ballot card issued to each voter,
"voter turnout" means the total count of the alpha ballot card with
the highest number of cards tabulated by the computer.  Ballots that are blank
or ballots that are rejected for any reason shall be included in the count of
the total number of voters.



"Voting system", the use of paper
ballots, electronic ballot cards, voting machines, or any system by which votes
are cast and counted. [L 1970, c 26, pt of §2; am L 1973, c 217, §1(a); am L
1979, c 196, §3; am L 1980, c 264, §1(a); am L 1987, c 232, §1; am L 1990, c
156, §4; am L Sp 1995, c 27, §§3, 15; am L 1996, c 239, §1; am L 1998, c 22,
§1; am L 1999, c 141, §§3, 4; am L 2004, c 57, §7]