Hawaii Supreme Court Rules Elections Commission Can Meet Without a Chair; Elections Office Must Provide Support
The Hawaii Supreme Court ruled on October 30 that the state Office of Elections must provide the administrative support the Hawaii Elections Commission needs to carry out its oversight duties. The Public Interest Legal Foundation welcomed the ruling in a statement on November 2.
The ruling addressed Chief Election Officer Scott Nago's months-long prevention of the Commission from meeting. The Commission oversees the Office of Elections, and the foundation had filed an amicus brief supporting Commissioners Ralph Cushnie and Tamara McKay, arguing that the office cannot keep the body charged with overseeing it from meeting.
Under the ruling, when the Commission lacks a chairperson, any single commissioner may request the administrative support needed to convene a meeting, and the Office of Elections must provide it. The decision allows the Commission to resume its work, exercise its lawful oversight authority and select a chair pro tem.
The ruling did not address any ballots or vote counts; it resolved only the procedural question of whether the Commission can meet. Hawaii holds its election on November 3.
(Source: Public Interest Legal Foundation)
Source: Public Interest Legal Foundation
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：檀香山的阿里伊奥拉尼宫（夏威夷州最高法院所在地）前的卡美哈梅哈一世雕像。美国历史建筑调查（HABS）照片，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The statue of Kamehameha I in front of Aliiolani Hale, home of the Hawaii Supreme Court, in Honolulu. Historic American Buildings Survey photo, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
