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State Legislature needs to consider numerous topics

There are numerous topics our state Legislature needs to consider. An important issue is to allow voters in Hawaii to have the right to both citizen initiative and referendum. Hawaii does not currently allow either.

As to voting, preferential/ranked choice/instant runoff voting would permit citizens to “rank” their preferences, without being limited to only one candidate. Maine and numerous jurisdictions in the United States have adopted this progressive voting method. We could then eliminate the need for holding primaries, which costs the citizens hundreds of thousands of dollars and we the taxpayers end up paying for the political parties to choose their candidates.

Hawaii is one of only a handful of states which has outlawed “write-in” voting. We could go to a complete “mail-in” voting system. Though I prefer going to the polls on Election Day, this also costs all of us many thousands of dollars. Save the taxpayers this unnecessary expense.

We must also institute campaign finance reform and move to a public financing of elections. The millions of dollars which candidates are forced to raise is criminal. The power of secret super PACs has skewed our democratic system.

Allow those incarcerated to be able to vote. Why remove this fundamental democratic right from someone who is serving time in prison? Yes, we do allow those with a felony conviction to vote; yet there is no justification to not allow someone to be able to vote while they are in jail.

Please support the five Greens on the ballot.

Nikhilananda

Candidate — Hawaii House of

Representatives, District 13

Huelo

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