Candidates for most political offices can begin pulling nomination papers today, elections officials clarified after two state Supreme Court orders left some would-be candidates wondering.
All candidates except those for state Senate, state House and U.S. Congress can begin qualifying starting at 7:45 today, through June 7. That means candidates for County Council, U.S. Senate, governor, lieutenant governor and Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee can proceed with the qualification process.
The Supreme Court, in orders Thursday and Friday, delayed until further notice candidate qualifying for those districts that are in dispute, after a coalition from three islands filed a petition disputing district boundaries drawn by the state Reapportionment Commission.
“This court’s February 24, 2022 order does not preclude respondents State of Hawaii Office of Elections and the Chief Election Officer from making available nomination papers for statewide offices that are unaffected by the final reapportionment plan adopted by the 2021 Hawaii Reapportionment Commission,” the court stated in a clarification Friday.
County Clerk Jon Henricks said election officials from all the counties scheduled a telephone conference call Monday morning to discuss the ramifications of the order.
“Pursuant to the initial order issued by the Hawaii Supreme Court on February 24 and the clarifying order issued on February 25, Hawaii County will not be issuing nomination papers for U.S. Representative, State Senate, and State Representative contests until further notice from the court,” Henricks said Monday afternoon. “Hawaii County will be issuing nomination papers beginning Tuesday, March 1, 2022, for offices that are unaffected by the 2021 State Reapportionment Plan, including the Hawaii County Council, U.S. Senator, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees.”
The petition asks the court to invalidate the district maps recently approved by the commission and to direct the commission to redraw them to meet standards set out in the Hawaii constitution and state law, including that House districts be nestled within Senate districts and within congressional districts if practicable.
Other weaknesses petitioners claim about the process is that a four-member subcommittee, known as a permitted interaction group, created the maps behind closed doors with no way for the public to understand why decisions were made.
In addition, some petitioners said, communities of interest such as Waikoloa, Kailua-Kona and Hilo on the Big Island and Manoa on Oahu were unnecessarily split, while some rural communities, including traditional Native Hawaiian homestead areas, were submerged within larger wealthier populations that could dilute their voice.
The court gave the state until March 11 to respond to the petition, after the state asked for an extension from the original March 3 deadline.