Hanabusa wants voting delayed

PAHOA, Hawaii » U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa on Tuesday asked the state Office of Elections to delay Friday’s vote in two Puna precincts that will decide the Democratic Senate primary battle with U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz and also warned that she will likely go to court to try to postpone the vote.

In a letter to Scott Nago, the state’s chief election officer, Hanabusa argued that proceeding with the vote Friday would significantly impair voting rights for residents in state House District 4 who are still responding to the wreckage from Tropical Storm Iselle.

The congresswoman, who trails Schatz by 1,635 votes, urged Nago to delay the vote scheduled for Friday at Keonepoko Elementary School until voters are able to cast ballots at their usual precincts: Keonepoko Elementary and Hawaiian Paradise Community Center, which did not open for Saturday’s primary because of nearby storm damage. She also asked Nago to allow voters in the two precincts in the district that did open Saturday to vote if they were unable to get to their polling places because of extensive storm damage or blocked roadways.

Hanabusa was also consulting with legal counsel about a potential court challenge to try to block Friday’s vote. The congresswoman would also have the option of contesting the results — if the election does go forward — in a complaint to the state Supreme Court within six days after the vote.

"We’re going to have to file something in court, because I feel that what’s going on is really disenfranchising a lot of people," Hanabusa said.

Rex Quidilla, a spokesman for the Office of Elections, said election officials plan to move ahead with the vote Friday. Election officials determined that the one-day vote would be less disruptive than a vote by absentee ballot by mail within the 21-day period outlined under state law. Election officials have also cited an administrative rule that such an election should happen seven days after a postponement.

"This was the better way to do it to bring a close to the primary election," Quidilla said.

State election officials are mailing notices about Friday’s vote to registered voters in the two precincts eligible to participate, while county election officials have posted banners in the Puna region and will send out fliers informing residents about the vote.

Stewart Maeda, the Hawaii County clerk, said 8,269 voters are registered in the two precincts. (State election officials had initially said the number was 8,255.) He said 1,448 voters have already voted by walk-in or mail, so 6,821 could cast ballots Friday.

Schatz spent much of Tuesday helping deliver water and other supplies to Puna residents who have been left without power and water because of the storm.

"Sen. Schatz is working to help Puna residents get back on their feet," Meaghan Smith, a spokeswoman for the Schatz campaign, said in an email. "The independent nonpartisan experts at the Office of Elections and the county clerk from Hawaii Island are in a far better position to evaluate how to proceed with this election than anyone else."

Hanabusa and her supporters gave away free water and fruit and cooked chili for residents at an afternoon event at Makuu Farmers Market.

"We came here to see what was going on," the congresswoman said. "And it’s clear that when you watch what everyone has gone through with no electricity, no water. This woman came up to me today and said it was four days since she was able to take a shower."

Hanabusa was one of several political leaders Tuesday to call for a delay in Friday’s vote. She said she understands some people might criticize her because she has a vested interest in the outcome, but she said "it is an election that’s got to be run for the benefit of those who are voting. They have to be able to exercise that right."

State Rep. Faye Hanohano (D, Hawaiian Acres-Pahoa-Kalapana), who trails attorney Joy San Buenaventura in the primary, questioned whether all voters would be informed that Friday’s vote is happening.

"If I was in charge of elections, I would hold up on it because people are still recovering," she said. "They lost power, no water. And the information is not going to be well received anyway because there’s no way to really reach all the people to vote that are affected."

Hanohano, like Hanabusa and state Sen. Russell Ruderman (D, Puna), also said she believes voters in the two Puna precincts that did open Saturday deserve another chance to cast ballots. Voter turnout in those precincts was lower than average, which some have attributed to the storm.

"To do the voting this way is very suspicious, really, and it really should be done with a better lens," Hanohano said.

David Tarnas, a former state lawmaker who is the chairman of Hawaii County Democrats, asked Stephanie Ohigashi, chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Hawaii, to file a complaint with the Office of Elections to delay the vote.

"Because of the significant damage in these areas from the hurricane, these voters don’t have access to media coverage of the announcement about this change in elections procedures," Tarnas wrote. "The voters in these two precincts were promised a mail-in absentee ballot in posted statements on signs at the closed polling stations.

"Then without notifying every registered voter in these two precincts, the election procedures suddenly were changed. This is a clear violation of the voting rights of the people of Puna and must be challenged."

Pat Saiki, chairwoman of the Hawaii Republican Party, also said the vote should be delayed until Puna residents "have a chance to gather themselves and be safe and secure before they consider voting."

Saiki, at a news conference outside her Kahala home on Oahu, said election officials should use as much as the 21 days allowed under the law as needed.

"I’m sure more people would feel more secure about their surroundings, get their electricity back in order, before they can consider voting for something, anything at all," she said.

"All I know is what I am concerned with, and that’s the people of Puna," she added. "I’m concerned for them, and I want them to recover from this devastation before we move any further on any other kind of activity, including voting."

But Cam Cavasso, a former state lawmaker who is the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, said after touring the Puna region that Friday’s vote should go ahead as scheduled.

"Most of the roads are open now, the people are moving," he said. "What really struck me is how much people are supporting each other."

The election, while dramatic, is not an immediate priority for some Puna residents dealing with Iselle’s aftermath.

"We’re going to get together with our neighbors, probably soon, and sit down and talk about what’s been going on," Cynthia Ralston, a retired accountant who lives in Hawaiian Beaches, said of the primary as she waited for ice at a community center. "But it’s been a real challenge, not having any power and not having water for a while.

"People are kind of distracted. We’re normally very focused on elections and what’s going on, but our neighbor’s house was crushed by a tree and it’s leaning on our house, too. And so that’s kind of been taking precedence of what we need to take care of."

Roger Guenette, a development consultant who lives in Hawaiian Shores, questioned the rush to vote on Friday as he was picking up some bottled water.

"If they waited another week, would it hurt anybody?" he asked.

Gary Cable, a retired maintenance worker who lives in Hawaiian Beaches, said that mailing ballots to voters within the 21 days allowed for a postponed vote made sense to him.

Like others interviewed, Cable did not seem too concerned that the rest of Hawaii was waiting on Puna to learn whether Schatz or Hanabusa won the primary.

"Well," he said, "they can wait."

Star-Advertiser reporter B.J. Reyes contributed to this report.