Question: If I voted does that mean I might get called for jury duty?
Answer: The Hawai‘i State Judiciary draws its potential jury pool from lists of residents with a Hawaii driver’s license or who have registered to vote. Casting a ballot is not a prerequisite to receiving a summons for jury duty or a questionnaire about potential future service. The Judiciary’s questionnaires are issued on an annual basis, with the latest batch scheduled to be mailed statewide starting Friday, for potential jury service in 2027, according to a Judiciary news release.
Anyone who ignores a jury summons or a questionnaire may be penalized, but that news wouldn’t come by phone call or email, the Judiciary says, warning of scams.
“The Judiciary does not call or email individuals about bench warrants or missed jury duty summonses. All official communication is conducted by U.S. mail, unless you have reached out to the Judiciary directly. If you receive a suspicious call, do not answer questions and do not divulge any personal information. If you get an email that looks to be from the Hawai‘i State Judiciary, but did not email us first, do not click on anything and do not reply. Delete it immediately,” the news release said.
To be eligible to serve on a jury, a person must be at least 18 years old, a U.S. citizen, a Hawaii resident and able to read and understand English.
Q: Where can we find the Honolulu Charter amendments? The elections website isn’t working for us.
A: Twenty proposed amendments to the City Charter that Oahu voters will decide in the General Election on Nov. 3 can be found at 808ne.ws/4hsMJhR, posted on the website of the Honolulu Charter Commission, which is within the Honolulu City Council website. The full address is https://www.honolulucitycouncil.org/chartercommission.
Six of the 20 proposed amendments have to do with special funds, where tax money is earmarked outside the normal budgeting and appropriation process, according to Tom Yamachicka, a tax attorney who is president of the Tax Foundation of Hawaii, which generally opposes such funds. “Agencies that can spend money from special funds tend to spend them with little or no legislative oversight, and it becomes harder for the Legislature and the public to keep track of the money the more special funds there are,” he wrote in his weekly commentary on the foundation’s website.
Among the other proposed amendments are ones that would restrict the Honolulu Police Department’s participation in federal immigration enforcement; establish an office within the mayor’s office focused on native Hawaiians; establish an LGBTQIA+ commission; implement ranked-choice voting to elect the mayor, City Council, and prosecuting attorney; establish an Office of Data; allow permanent resident aliens to serve on city boards and commissions; and make any Council member, mayor or prosecuting attorney who is impeached ineligible for city office for two years.
The City Charter, the foundational document for the municipal government, can be amended by voters every 10 years, after an appointed commission winnows down proposals during a review process. Proposed charter amendments that make the ballot are ratified if “yes” votes for the particular proposal outnumber “no” votes. “Blank and over-votes are not included in the calculation,” according to the Elections Division.
The Honolulu Elections Division’s website, honolulu.gov/elections, also has a section devoted to “Charter Amendment Questions,” but it hadn’t been updated as of Monday afternoon and included an outdated link, as you found.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 2-200, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
