The candidates for Makakilo in the state house and Waikīkī on the Honolulu City Council could be determined by the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court after two candidates filed lawsuits challenging the result of the August primary election this week.
House District 43
Incumbent Kristen “Kanani” Souza and Sheila Medeiros, both Republicans, ran to represent Kapolei and Makakilo in the state Legislature. Since Souza and Medeiros were the only candidates in the election and from the same political party, the results of the August primary determine the result of the general election for their district. After a recount found that results were tied at 842 votes, election officials held a drawing at the Hawaiʻi State Capitol on Aug. 15. Officials put Souza and Medeiros’ names into two capsules, like one would find in a toy vending machine, placed the capsules into small lauhala baskets and selected Medeiros’ name.
Souza requested records and information regarding overages, underages, the details of the discrepancies, the signature verification process, reference signatures and the ballot curing process from the state Office of Elections and Honolulu Elections Division. The city denied Souza’s request, and the state sent her an over/under report, which showed two overages for precinct 43-03. Overages are when there are more ballots in a precinct than actual precinct turnout.
Souza argues in the lawsuit that the two overages could impact the result of the election, writing, “the interested of the people of the Forty-third Representative District are at stake.”
Next, Souza challenges the tie-breaking method involving the lauhala basket and said that it was not a “drawing by lot” that state statute requires. She argues that the improper procedure of the drawing denied candidates and voters equal and impartial treatment, violating their constitutional Fourteenth Amendment and Hawaiʻi Article 1 rights. She asked the court to invalidate that drawing.
“A State Representative should hold the seat based on the will of the voters, not the heavy-handedness of the election powers that be,” Souza wrote in the complaint.
She asked the Supreme Court to determine the effect of the two-ballot overage, determine that the drawing was invalid and determine which candidate was lawfully elected.
Souza filed her lawsuit on Monday against Hawaiʻi Chief Election Officer Scott Nago, Acting Honolulu City Clerk Chadd Kadota and Honolulu Elections Administrator Rex Quidilla. The case is scheduled to go to the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court on Wednesday, Sept. 2.
Medeiros said in an email to Aloha State Daily on Thursday that she respects the legal process now underway and will abide by the court’s decision.
“While I have already said publicly that I do not believe drawing lots is the best way to decide who represents the people of District 43, that is the method currently written into statute,” she said. “I intend to work with colleagues in the Legislature to improve that process so future ties can be resolved in a way that gives voters greater confidence.”
Honolulu City Council District 4
Tara Malia Gregory came third in the August primary behind sitting Council Chair Tommy Waters and Trevor Ozawa in the August primary to represent Honolulu City Council District 4, which includes Hawaiʻi Kai, Kaimukī and Waikīkī.
Waters, who was elected to the council in 2019 and reelected in 2022, is running for a third term this year. Yet, Ozawa and Waters are battling in court over a lawsuit from Ozawa that argues that Waters is ineligible to run again.
First Circuit Court Judge James Ashford prevented Waters from running on July 27, after early and absentee voting was already underway. Waters appealed and the case headed to the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Gregory raised the issue of Waters’ eligibility in March, and Ozawa filed the lawsuit in June.
In the lawsuit, Gregory reported that two voters who had already cast their votes for Waters wrote and said they wished they could support Gregory but election officials told them they could not change their already-cast ballots.
“This contemporaneous communication provides concrete evidence that at least some ballots cast for Waters did not reflect those voters’ subsequent electoral preference after the eligibility determination,” Gregory stated.
Gregory requested the daily ballot-accounting records maintained by the County Clerk, but the Clerk wrote and said that no records exist that are within control of their office.
Gregory asked the court to determine Waters’ eligibility, order the state and city to produce ballot-accounting records and determine which candidates will advance to the November general election.
Gregory filed her lawsuit against state Chief Election Officer Scott Nago, Honolulu Acting City Clerk Chadd Kadota and Waters on Tuesday. The case has not been scheduled for a hearing yet.
Waters and Ozawa did not immediately respond to Aloha State Daily’s request for comment.
The Office of the City Clerk and the Hawaiʻi Office of Elections declined to comment on the election contests while the matters remain in litigation.
Haley Lehman can be reached at haley@alohastatedaily.com.
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