Hawaii Regulations § 3-177-202 Appeal to the board from a clerk's ruling on a challenge in writing not occurring in a voter service center

Regulation Text

(a) Any appeal of the clerk's ruling that did not occur at a voter service center shall be made in writing by filing a notice of appeal with the respective clerk's office addressed to the chairperson of the board of registration within ten days of service of the clerk's decision. The notice of appeal shall include a statement of the clerk's-decision being appealed, the grounds upon which it is being contended that the clerk's decision is erroneous, and the name of the person challenged. The appeal shall be exempted from the provisions of HRS Chapter 91 , regarding contested case hearings.

(b) The board may hold an informal pre-hearing conference for the purpose of:

(1) Simplifying and clarifying issues;

(2) Making necessary or desirable amendments to the notice of the charges, or its answer, if any;

(3) Obtaining admissions of fact or documents to avoid unnecessary proof;

(4) Limiting the number of expert witnesses; and

(5) Reviewing any other materials that may aid in the reasonable and expeditious disposition of the matter.

Notice and opportunity to participate shall be given to each party and each party's attorney. The entire board or one of its members designated for such purpose shall preside at the conference. Prejudicial comment or conclusion on any issue being controverted shall not be made or stated at any time by any member or the presiding member of the board. Minutes of the conference shall be kept, and agreements shall be concisely noted.

(d) The chairperson of the board shall be the presiding officer and. shall be authorized to make any preliminary determinations necessary for the prompt and efficient management of the appeal hearing.

(e) Before presentation of the case, each party shall have the opportunity to make an opening statement. The usual order of the opening statements shall be:

(1) Opening statement by the petitioner;

(2) Opening statement by the respondent, or respondent may reserve respondent's opportunity to make the opening statement until after the witnesses for the petitioner have been presented; and

(3) Opening statements may be waived by a party.

(f) Witnesses may be called to testify and presented in the following order:

(1) Witnesses for the petitioner;.

(2) Witnesses for the respondent;

(3) Witnesses for the petitioner in rebuttal;

(4) Witnesses for the respondent in rebuttal; and

(5) Additional witnesses as the board may deem necessary.

(g) Witnesses may be subpoenaed, and examined in the following order:

(1) Direct examination by the party calling the witness;

(2) Cross examination by the other party;

(3) Redirect examination by the party calling the witnesses;

(4) Recross examination by the other party; and

(5) Examination by the board.

(h) Rules of evidence as specified in HRS § 91-10 shall be applicable thereto.

(i) After all the evidence has been presented, the board shall give each party the opportunity to summarize. The usual order of final argument shall be as follows:

(1) Final argument by the petitioner;

(2) Final argument by the respondent; and

(3) Rebuttal argument by the petitioner, which shall be limited to countering whatever may be said by the respondent during the respondent's final argument. A reasonable time limit may be imposed by the board for the final arguments. Final arguments may be waived by a party.

(j) At the end of the hearing, the board may give an oral decision or take the matter under advisement with a written decision to be issued at a later date. Regardless of whether the board gives an oral decision, the board shall issue a written decision, including findings of fact and conclusions of law.

(k) Service of the written decision upon the appellant shall be made personally or by registered mail, which shall be deemed complete upon deposit in the mail, postage prepaid, and addressed to the appellant's last known address. The board shall notify the party ruled against that the party may appeal to the intermediate appellate court, pursuant to the provisions of HRS § 11-51 . The board shall not consider motions for reconsideration.

(l) Unless the board's decision is timely appealed to the intermediate appellate court, the clerk shall make any necessary changes to the register of voters to conform to the decision. The clerk shall notify the challenger and the challenged voter of the voter's status on the register.

(m) "Filing a notice of appeal" for-purposes of this rule means the physical delivery or mailing of the notice of appeal to the clerk by the statutory deadline of within ten days of service of the adverse decision, so long as any mailed notice of appeal is received no later than two business days after its mailing. The clerk will make a notation of the time of receipt and forward it to the chairperson of the board of registration. Going forward, the chairperson will determine the manner in which subsequent filings in the matter are to be filed.

History

[Eff JUL 26 2020] (Auth: HRS §§ 11-4 , 11-43 ) (Imp: HRS §§ 11-25 , 11-26 , 11-41 , 11-43 , 11-51 through 11-54 , 1-10 )

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