The state of Hawaii wanted to better inform voters about polling locations and election issues before they reached the polls.

"We wanted to give voters a heads up that they might not be voting at the same place they have been for the past 10 years," says David Rosenbrock, data processing coordinator for Hawaii's Office of Elections Computer Support Department.

According to Rosenbrock, the state has 292 designated polling locations, 51 districts, and 104 different ballot types. Hawaii is also required to provide ballots in three languages-Japanese, Chinese, and Ilocano. In the 2002 election cycle, 51 state house seats were up for vote in addition to 25 senate seats; nine city council seats on Oahu; and county council seats on Maui, Kauai, and the island of Hawaii. In addition, Maui and Kauai had mayoral contests. Also included on the ballots were county charter issues and constitutional amendments.

"The ballot can be so complex that it really helps for people to have an idea of what to expect before they arrive at the polls," says Rosenbrock. "We are simply trying to lessen confusion for voters before they get to their polling places. Anything we can do to provide information to the public and make the registration and voting process easier is a great benefit to everyone in the state."

Hawaii's Office of Elections

Prior to the 2002 election cycle, Hawaii's Office of Elections employed Esri's Professional Services Group to help build the site. Together, they implemented an ArcIMS Web site where viewers could search for information including their district/precinct numbers, their assigned polling places, and maps to these locations. Users could even preview ballots specific to their district/precinct before election day.

The ArcIMS site offers voters an alternative to calling or visiting the Office of Elections for such information in the event that they lost or did not receive notification. Making this information readily available in an easy-to-access format was especially important for Hawaii's 2002 primary, general, and two special elections, since approximately one-third of the state's registered voters were redistricted in 2002. This meant that nearly 180,000 people faced district number changes or new polling location assignments.

Hawaii's Web site allows viewers to search for information in one of two ways. One option is by district/precinct number. Rosenbrock explained that registered voters are sent a yellow card identifying their polling place and district/precinct number. The other option is for users to enter the last six digits of their social security number. When this option is chosen, the application searches approximately 600,000 registered voter records in an Access database to find all voters whose last six digits match. Voters can select their address from the returned choices. Then they can opt to view a map to their polling location, see a report of their polling site and precinct number, or preview their ballot. When chosen, the mapping option displays a simple map showing streets and the assigned polling location, to which it automatically zooms. This Web site was built using a modified version of the sample Active Server Pages (ASP) code that comes with ArcIMS.

"Most of the feedback we have received has been positive," Rosenbrock concludes. The Web site will remain a part of the Office of Elections services and will be refined and improved."

According to Rosenbrock, local schools have also been using the site as an educational tool in the classroom.

For more information, contact Royce Jones, Esri (e-mail: rjones@esri.com) or visit www.state.hi.us/elections/ballot.html and click on "Find polling place and ballot." Click the "Return to Office of Elections Homepage" link on any page to see the full Web content provided by the Office of Elections.