A move to block a Native Hawaiian convention was rejected Thursday by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, prompting a pledge to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Keli‘i Akina, president of Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, said that while he was disappointed in the ruling, the case is far from over.

“We remain confident that we are legally correct in calling this a race-based election through proxy and that ultimately we will prevail,” Akina said.

With Thursday’s court ruling, voting by about 89,000 certified Native Hawaiians continues uninterrupted in an election featuring more than 200 candidates vying to become delegates in a convention scheduled to commence in February.

The 40 Na‘i Aupuni delegates will consider proposals for Hawaiian self-governance, with any recommendation going back to the voters for ratification.

Voting ends Nov. 30.

Four Native Hawaiians, including Akina, and two non-Hawaiians filed a suit in August claiming the state is illegally running a race- and view-based election.

The group also filed for an injunction to stop the election, but U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright disagreed Oct. 23, prompting the appeal.

“The Ninth Circuit has correctly rejected the Grassroot Institute’s second legal attempt to stop the election of delegates,” Na‘i Aupuni attorney William Meheula said in a statement.

Meheula added, “For those who have expressed concern about the Na‘i Aupuni process, Na‘i Aupuni directors understand that these are important and sensitive issues, and they ask the voters to consider that the courts have rejected those concerns and to believe in the collective wisdom of the voters and candidates.”

Delegates to the convention, or aha, will meet on Oahu between February and April over the course of eight consecutive weeks.

Akina continues to maintain the process is discriminatory.

“We remain committed to defending the aloha spirit and fighting racial divisiveness in the Aloha State,” he said Thursday.

The lawsuit argues that the election violates the First, 14th and 15th Amendments and the Voting Rights Act. It further argues that to allow the election to move forward would cause both the plaintiffs and the citizens of the state irreparable harm.

In addition to Akina, the plaintiffs are Kealii Makekau, Joseph Kent, Yoshimasa Sean Mitsui, Pedro Kana‘e Gapero and Melissa Leina‘ala Moniz.

A court hearing has yet to be scheduled for the lawsuit, but Akina said he is hopeful the case will be decided in the plaintiffs’ favor before the convention starts.

“Every day, more and more Native Hawaiians make it clear that they are dissatisfied with the Na‘i Aupuni and the election process,” Akina said in a statement. “We have a duty to them and all the people of Hawaii to put a halt to this unconstitutional and racially divisive scheme. We must ensure that Native Hawaiian monies are used for the betterment of Native Hawaiians and not for an unconstitutional election.”