Hawaii Elections Commission accepts PIG findings, votes to hire independent audit of Kauai ballots; subpoena motion falls short

The Hawaii State Elections Commission on Wednesday received a synopsis of a permitted interaction group (PIG) investigation into ballot-chain-of-custody and vote-count discrepancies and voted to hire an independent accounting firm to audit ballot envelopes collected on Kauai. The commission also considered, but did not adopt, a motion to subpoena after-hours entry and exit logs for ballot storage.

Lindsay Kam, who presented the PIG synopsis to the commission, said the group "determined that the complaints were valid, that the county officials were not in compliance with the law, and that the final count of mail ballots was not verifiable." Kam read a response from the Office of Elections that said, in part, it "could not replicate the discrepancy of 661 ballots and noted that the pig may not have accounted for electronic ballots or considered other factors." Kam urged further independent review.

The PIG report summarized multiple issues raised by public commenters and its review of county records, including differing totals in county logs and the statewide voter registration system (SVRS), omitted or corrected entries on county collection forms, and missing daily collection records in some counties. The document identified a 661-ballot discrepancy on Kauai in earlier PIG calculations (later revised in the PIG accounting as records were rechecked) and a roughly 19,000-ballot difference between county-collected envelopes and the state's reported mail ballots for Hawaii County.

Commissioners framed the vote on the audit as an attempt to resolve those numeric inconsistencies with a verifiable paper trail. Commissioner Ralph Kushner argued in favor of an external review, saying the audit "will clarify everything" and called for the records—some of which he said had been provided to the PIG but not posted publicly—to be made available. Commissioner Andrea seconded the motion to hire an independent accounting firm. The commission then took a roll-call vote. Commissioners Adrian, Kushner, Camp and Papalimu and Chair Curtis voted yes; Commissioners McAdam and Ostercamp voted no. The motion passed by a majority vote.

The PIG recommended that auditors manually count ballot envelopes, examine U.S. Postal Service receipts and compare signatures on envelopes to the signatures on file. Kam told commissioners the PIG believes "examining the envelopes will yield much more useful information than counting the ballots," because the envelopes indicate how a ballot was collected (for example, a post office return versus a drop-box pickup).

Public testimony ahead of the PIG presentation was sharply divided. Dozens of callers urged the commission to pursue investigations, subpoena records and remove Chief Elections Officer Scott Nago. Nolan Chang, the Hawaii Republican Party national committeeman, urged federal authorities to investigate, saying he had "attached all relevant documents, including witness statements and other evidence" alleging irregularities. Several testifiers who said they had been official observers, including Jennifer Hunt and Jamie Detweiler, described difficulties obtaining chain-of-custody forms and limits on observation of signature-verification processes. Other testifiers, including a Kauai-based observer Bevin Parker Evans and multiple local volunteers, defended the county procedures and said they had personally witnessed secure handling and logging of ballots.

Commissioner Ralph Kushner later moved a second, related motion to subpoena after-hours entry and exit logs for the secure storage area that holds ballots. Commissioner Andrea seconded that motion. In a roll call on the subpoena motion four commissioners voted yes and three voted no. Commissioners voting yes were Adrian, Kushner, Kam and Papalimu; Commissioners Megiddo (recorded as "no"), Ostercamp and Chair Curtis voted no. Commissioners and legal staff then disputed the threshold required to adopt the subpoena: the commission's enabling statute defines membership at nine and, according to the deputy attorney general present, requires a majority of the full membership (five votes) to act. Because the roll call produced four yes and three no votes, and because two seats on the commission were vacant or recently resigned, the chair moved on to the next agenda item and the subpoena motion was not adopted; commissioners and speakers disputed the procedural outcome on the record.

The PIG report also included several policy recommendations, including a return to in-person, election-day voting on paper ballots, and recommended termination of Chief Election Officer Scott Nago. The commission did not vote on those broader policy recommendations at the meeting; the body limited action to the Kauai audit motion and the subpoena motion described above.

Chair Curtis set a follow-up meeting to continue PIG-related business and recommended reconvening on Sept. 24 at 10 a.m. for additional discussion and potential decisions on the remaining PIG recommendations.

The commission's actions mean an independent, manual audit of Kauai ballot envelopes and related records will be pursued. The PIG and several commissioners said they expect the audit to help reconcile the county-collected envelope totals, USPS receipts and the ballots recorded in the statewide system. Several members of the public who testified urged immediate removal or referral of the chief elections officer to the attorney general; other testifiers urged caution and urged adherence to prior court rulings and existing records.

The commission's next meeting was scheduled on the record for Sept. 24 at 10 a.m., when commissioners said they would continue to consider the PIG's findings and next steps.