No penalty for election chief over ballot shortage and delays

Although a series of mistakes led to ballot shortages on Election Day, causing long lines that frustrated many voters, none was serious enough to merit the firing of Chief Election Officer Scott Nago, the state Elections Commission has ruled.

"We felt there was a series of mistakes, certainly, but none of them rose to the level where he would be dismissed because of those," Elections Commission Chairman William Marston said after the commission met Friday. "There are some things that need to be fixed, but they will be."

Marston added there would be no punishment or disciplinary action taken against Nago or the Office of Elections.

Nago, who has faced intense criticism and some calls from the public that he be fired over the ballot fiasco, said he was relieved the process is over but otherwise had little reaction.

"We’re just getting ready — we have the 2014 elections right around the corner, we’ve got the (legislative) session that we’ve got to participate in," he said. "We don’t really have a reaction.

"It’s been a long process but it’s not something unexpected. It is what it is, and we have to go through it."

Commissioners met in a private session for about 90 minutes Friday to discuss Nago’s future and an investigative report compiled by a subcommittee of the commission.

The investigation focused on the calculation for the number of ballots needed, the availability of ballots and delays in getting extra ballots to voting sites.

Commissioner Danny Young, who led the subcommittee, said there was no finding of any wrongdoing or illegal conduct. He said the commission is working with Nago to resolve "operational" errors that were uncovered.

"There are conditions we’re going to do to improve the elections office, to improve the management skills, so that this will not happen again," Young said after the meeting. "According to Scott, the staff was adequate. However, I think where we have a problem is enough staff and not enough trained staff because a lot of them are part time or they just come on for elections, and we find that a little disturbing."

Nago said his office has worked to identify and correct the problems that led to the ballot shortages. He said an incorrect formula was used to determine the number of ballots needed and that checks and balances to ensure the proper formula was used had failed.

"We’ve identified the problem," Nago said. "We’ve figured out what we can do so we don’t repeat that problem. It’s just a matter of executing."

Shortages led to long lines and frustrated voters who either endured long waits or walked away without voting.

The fiasco prompted Gov. Neil Abercrombie to call for an investigation by Attorney General David Louie. Abercrombie also has proposed that the state move to all-mail elections in the future.

At a November commission meeting, several testifiers urged the commission to fire Nago.

Those testifiers included state Sen. Sam Slom (R, Diamond Head-Kahala-Hawaii Kai), who called Friday’s ruling by the commission a "slap in the face to the public, particularly the electorate."

At the least, Slom said, the commission should have retained an independent investigator to examine the missteps.

"Unfortunately, there’s a growing list of bad behavior by state officials, and there’s no consequences," he added. "People don’t do their jobs or they do it poorly, and they usually get a slap on the wrist — in this case, no slap at all."