State House Speaker Joseph Souki said the House will not take up a challenge to Rep. Calvin Say’s residency before the November elections.

Six Palolo voters have questioned whether Say lives in the Palolo state House district he has represented since 1976 or whether he actually lives with his family in Pauoa Valley. The voters lost a legal challenge in Circuit Court but plan to appeal. After the court ruling, the voters asked the House to investigate Say’s residency.

In a letter Friday to Lance Collins, an attorney for the voters, Souki said the House cannot unilaterally call itself into special session. The speaker also cited the potential appeal of the court ruling.

The House had intervened in the court case, arguing, like Say, that only the House has the power to determine whether members are qualified voters of the districts they represent, the standard under the state Constitution.

Collins said in an email that "it has become clear that Souki’s purpose in intervening in the Say lawsuit was not to protect the House’s jurisdiction over its members — as was claimed — but to protect one specific member from having to answer for his lack of qualifications."

"The speaker has extensive powers under the Constitution and the House rules. The problem is not a lack of power but a lack of political will. The other House members and the public have a right to know what Say offered Souki for the integrity of the House."

Say, a Democrat, is facing Keiko Bonk, a Green Party candidate, and Julia Allen, a Republican, in the Nov. 4 general election.