The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-10-02
MAUHIN|S CAN NOT VOTE
SUPREME COURT sUsTAINs THE
ORGANIC LAW.
Holds that Section so Requiring One
Years Residence Before Being Eli
gible to Vote is valid.

Adverse decisions in the appeals of
| Frank H. Loucks and James Irving
from the decisions of the Board of Re-
gistration refusing to accept them as
voters, were handed down this morning
| by the supreme court. In the first case
| Loucks claimed the right to vote on
account of having resided in Oahu pre-
vious to the organization of the Terri
tory of Hawaii. The point was raised
| by Loucks that Section so of the Orga-
mic Act which restricted voters
to those who had resided in the
! Territory a year previous to their
| application for registration did
not apply at the first election but that
Section 1859 of the Revised Statutes of
the United States governed the case.
| The Supreme court holds that the re-
| quirements of Section 60 shall be con-
strued to mean one years residence in
| the Hawaiian Islands, not one year af-
| ter the establishment of the territorial
government The decision which is
concurred in by Associate Justices Gal
braith and Perry was written by Chief
Justice Frear
The opinion of the court is given as
follows:
This is an appeal from a decision of
the Board of Registration for the ISL
| and of Oahu refusing to register the
name of the applicant Frank H. Loucks.
! The appeal is taken under Section AZ
of the Rules and Regulations for Ad-
ministering Oaths and Holding Elec-
ton" Civ. L. p. 799. The only ground
upon which registration was refused
was that the applicant had not resided
in the Hawaiian Islands one year pre-
ceding the time at which he offered to
register.
The question is, which of the follow
ing provisions of the statutes of the
United States governs this case, name
ly, Section 1853, of the Revised Sta
tutes, which is found in the chapter
entitled Provisions Common to All the
Territories" and which reads: Every
male citizen above the age of twenty
one, including persons who have legally
declared their intention to become citi
zens in any Territory hereafter organ
lied, and who are actual residents of
such Territory at the time of the or
ganization thereof, shall be entitled to
vote at the first election in such Terri
tory, and to hold any office therein,
subject, nevertheless, to the limitations
specified in the next section" or Sec
ton so of can Act to Provide a Gov
ernment for the Territory of Hawaii"
| found, in u. 8. SITS. for 1900 at page 151,
qualified to vote for representatives a
person shall-First, be a male citizen
of the United States.
Second have resided in the Territory
not less than one year preceding and in
the representative district in which he
offers to register not less than three
months Immediately preceding the
time at which he offers to register.
Third, have attained the age of
twenty-one years.
Fourth, prior to each regular election,
during the time prescribed by law for
registration, have caused his name to
be entered on the register of voters for
representatives for his district.
Fifth, be able to speak, read and
write the English or Hawaiian langu-
age.
1t is contended that Section 1859 of
the Revised Statutes was intended to
apply to the first election in Hawaii
and that Section 60 of the Organic Act
was intended to apply to subsequent
elections only.
The Organic Act covers the entire
subject of elections in Hawaii in mi
mute detail. If there is anything clear
from the whole act, 1t is that Congress
meant to provide in this act all the
legislation it meant to provide at all
for the election of members of the ter
ritorial Legislature. There is nothing
whatever in the act itself to indicate
that Section go was not intended to ap-
ply to the first election. On the con-
trary If Section 1859 should be held to
apply, it would be necessary TO hold
that not only Section go of the Organic
Act, but other sections, such as Section
Is which provides that persons convict
ed of certain criminal offences and GER
tain other persons shall neither vote
nor hold Office under this government,
do not apply to the first election, al
though there is nothing in those sec
kGTy,e 20 It'd 10 nd ton nv
pressly provides that they shall take
effect forty-five days after their ap-
proVal Moreover Section 60 of the act,
relating to the number of Senators eX-
pressly refers to the first election-as If
that as we'll as other elections were
in the contemplation of Congress in
making this law.
On the other hand Section 1859 of the
Revised Statutes may be satisfactorily
explained consistently with this view.
That section was intended to provide
for territories created where there was
previously no local government or pro-
vision for elections and where congress
intended to leave it TO the people of the
territory to enact their own election
laws. The very next section, 1860, pro-
vldes that, "At all subsequent cleo
tions, however, in any territory.
the qualifications of voters and OF
holding Office shall be such as may be
prescribed by the legislative assembly
of each territory; subject, etc" Ha-
wall already had a local government
with a system of election laws. These
laws were for the most part substant-
tally reenacted by Congress in the Or
ganic Act Congress did not intend to
leave 1t to the local legislature to de-
terming the qualifications of voters
after the first election and there was
no necessity for it's providing the quail
ifications for the first election, that Is,
before the local legislature could have
an opportunity to so provide itself. ON
account of peculiar conditions existing
here before, Congress deemed /. best to
prescribe itself the qualifications of
voters at all elections. 1t would be as
reasonable to hold that Section go Of
the Organic was intended to apply to
the first election and that Section 1860
OF the Revised Statutes was intended
to apply to all subsequent elections as
to hold that Section 60 OF the Organic
Act was to apply to subsequent cleo
tions only and Section 1859 of the Re-
visad Statutes IN the first election.