Big Island to retain embattled election official

Hawaii County Council Chairman Domi­nic Yagong said Monday that he would not dismiss County Clerk Jamae Kawa­uchi, who has been harshly criticized by the state Office of Elections as an ineffective leader after more than a dozen precincts opened late for the primary election.

After a special Council meeting in Hilo to review the primary, Yagong said the problems were the result of "human error." He said he has asked that he and the clerk meet with Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz, the Office of Elections and the state attorney general’s office on how best to prepare for the November general election.

"The main thing that came out of the meeting was for us to come up with processes to make sure that these errors do not occur for the general election," said Yagong, who appointed and supervises Kawa­uchi.

Councilman Dennis "Fresh" Oni­shi, who raised red flags about the county’s preparations before the election Aug. 11, said Yagong as chairman controls the majority on the Council. But he said he would replace Kawa­uchi if he had the power.

"She’s not taking the responsibility, so if I did have the power, yes, I would be looking at replacing her," he said.

The embattled clerk on Monday asked for Schatz to oversee the general election because she contends the Office of Elections has not taken responsibility for "serious mishaps" during the primary, but Schatz suggested that she was "blame-shifting."

Kawauchi made the request to Gov. Neil Abercrombie and also asked for an independent review of the elections office. Thirteen Hawaii island precincts opened late for the primary vote, prompting the governor to issue a proclamation that extended voting hours by 90 minutes.

Kawauchi released her report on the primary Monday, describing the precinct delays as "unacceptable" and concluding that voter confidence "could be shaken." But she said turnout at the precincts with the most significant delays was in the expected range of the past three elections.

Abercrombie declined to comment. But Schatz, in a written statement, said state law does not give his office control of elections. The Lieutenant Governor‘s Office oversaw elections until the law was changed in 1995 and the authority was shifted to a chief election officer.

"Right now is a time to focus on ensuring that the Nov. 6 general election comes off without a hitch statewide, with a particular focus on Hawaii County," Schatz said. "The administration will make certain that the Office of Elections and the county clerk work together to execute a well-run election. The law does not give my office jurisdiction or control over the election process. If Ms. Kawa­uchi or anyone else believes that the law should change, the appropriate time to address this issue is in the 2013 legislative session.

"Now is not the time for blame-shifting. Now is the time to focus on solving the problem at hand."

In her report, Kawa­uchi attributed the delays in opening the polling places on time at 7 a.m. — some as late as 90 minutes — to late delivery of equipment and supplies, voting equipment malfunction, failed communication to establish the equipment programming code and missing information such as equipment pass codes. The critical error, according to the report, was the mistaken delivery of equipment and supplies for the Wai­ko­loa precinct to the wrong distribution point the night before.

"What went wrong does not have to do with poor planning or leadership," Kawa­uchi said, chiding her staff, particularly deputy clerk Steve Lopez, for a lack of attention to detail.

Lopez, speaking to the Council on Monday as a private citizen, contradicted Kawa­uchi’s portrayal and said he was being made the scapegoat when he was always acting under her direction.

"I’m reluctantly reporting this matter only because I have been prohibited from speaking to the media, yet my good name has been compromised in the media and in my community," he said.

Kawauchi also said her review has been hampered because the Office of Elections removed election records from the county without her permission. State election officials did so to conduct an investigation after Kawa­uchi was unable to provide a detailed account of the precinct delays in the days after the election.

"This action on behalf of the state of Hawaii Office of Elections is deeply disturbing and does little to provide me with confidence that the state Office of Elections can work in partnership with the County of Hawaii," Kawa­uchi said.

Scott Nago, the state’s chief election officer, said his office did not take poll books from Kawa­uchi’s office until Aug. 14 — three days after the primary election.

"I don’t think she even knows what a poll book looks like," he said.

Nago, who noted that other counties did not report similar irregularities, said Hawaii County’s problem is the "failure, planning and the leadership" of Kawa­uchi.

In a related matter, Lorraine Ino­uye, a former state senator and county mayor who lost to incumbent Malama Solo­mon in the Senate District 4 race by 69 votes, said Monday she would not contest the election.

Inouye had been considering a challenge because of the precinct delays and other irregularities. She made her decision after reviewing election records at the Office of Elections headquarters in Pearl City and said the matter could have been resolved sooner had Kawa­uchi shared the records with her last week.

The district runs from Hilo’s Pau­kaa community to Upolu Point in North Kohala.