Select an option below to continue reading this premium story.
Already a Honolulu Star-Advertiser subscriber? Log in now to continue reading.
A federal lawsuit challenging state laws related to getting a candidate’s name on Hawaii’s presidential election ballot has been dismissed.
The Justice Party and Hawaii resident Kristine Kubat filed the suit last year contending that state election laws requiring one-tenth of 1 percent of Hawaii registered voters to file a petition for a new party here are unconstitutionally too burdensome.
The party wanted its candidate, former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, on Hawaii’s 2012 ballot.
The dismissal approved by the federal court Thursday follows a recent opinion issued by the attorney general’s office that said candidates’ names can be on the presidential ballot regardless of whether their parties are recognized under state law.
The Justice Party agreed to the dismissal as a result of the attorney general’s opinion.
Anne Lopez, spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office, said the attorney general is pleased with the outcome of the case. The dismissal allows the state to avoid the time and expense of litigation, she said.
The Justice Party contended that its volunteers obtained 3,000 signatures to be recognized as a new party here but did not have addresses and dates of births to meet the state law’s requirement of about 691 valid signatures.