HB 2132 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO VOTING.

Summary

Authorizes state agencies to implement automatic voter registration if designated by the Office of Elections. Requires eligible applicants for instruction permits, provisional licenses, driver's licenses, and identification cards to be automatically registered or preregistered to vote unless the applicant opts out. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 23, 2026 Last action Feb 19, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HB2132 → HB2132_HD1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates Hawaii's automatic voter registration (AVR) system by clarifying that drivers must attest to US citizenship rather than presenting physical proof, simplifying the process for eligible voters. It also expands the scope of documents that trigger automatic registration to include identification cards, not just driver's licenses. Finally, the effective date is set to a distant future date of July 1, 3000, likely as a placeholder for future legislative action.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of automatic voter registration to include applicants for identification cards in addition to instruction permits, provisional licenses, and driver's licenses.

ELIGIBILITY

Changed the citizenship verification requirement from presenting physical documentation to simply attesting that the applicant holds US citizenship in a manner permitted by federal law.

REQUIREMENT

Updated the handling of citizenship verification errors to require drivers to inform applicants if documents do not sufficiently prove citizenship status.

Changed the opt-out mechanism for declining registration from a 'decline to be registered' form to an 'electronic ballot' option.

SCOPE

Extended automatic voter registration eligibility to include applicants for state identification cards, not just driver's licenses.

TIMELINE

Set the effective date to July 1, 3000, indicating the law is not intended to take effect immediately.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 12, 2026

Committee

Reported from HSH (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 221-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.

lower

Feb 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on HSH recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Marten, Amato, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Takayama, Takenouchi; Ayes with reservations: Representative(s) Olds, Hartsfield; 2 Noes: Representative(s) Alcos, Garcia; and Excused: none.

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Committee

Referred to HSH, JHA, FIN, referral sheet 4

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

13 primary · 0 co-sponsors