Elections commission asks Legislature for statewide audit and votes to recommend return to precinct voting

The Hawaii Elections Commission voted Oct. 29 to ask the Legislature to authorize an independent, statewide audit of the 2024 election and separately to ask lawmakers to consider returning the state to precinct‑based, same‑day voting.

The actions followed more than three hours of public testimony—much of it defending mail‑in voting for its accessibility to seniors, voters with disabilities and working families—and extended commissioner debate about whether postal business‑reply receipts and county transfer records provide a reliable audit trail.

The motion requesting a legislative audit was approved by the commission after a roll‑call vote. Commissioners amended the separate letter on precinct voting to direct the chair and Commissioner Lindsey Kam to co‑draft the final text and to include the commission’s recorded vote count in the letter before sending it to the Legislature.

Supporters of the audit said it is the most direct way to resolve discrepancies cited in permitted interaction group reports and county documents, including a numerical gap the PIG and public testifiers identified in Hawai‘i County’s 2024 reported ballots. Opponents said an audit request can be framed as a routine verification of the system and warned against language that could be read as political messaging.

The commission also discussed next steps for obtaining USPS business‑reply mail (BRM) receipts and county transfer manifests. Deputy counsel reminded commissioners that subpoena power is limited to evidentiary hearings and that some records (for example, county account records used for USPS billing) may be obtainable through other public‑records channels. Chair Curtis directed Chief Elections Officer Scott Nago to follow up with county clerks and requested that staff prepare the two draft letters for the commission’s review and signature at the next meeting.

The commission recessed the meeting to a date next week to give commissioners and the public time to review the PIG report and related correspondence and to allow staff to circulate draft letters.

Action details: A motion to request the Legislature commission an independent statewide audit of the 2024 election was approved by majority vote; a separate motion directing the commission to send a letter recommending the Legislature consider returning to precinct, same‑day voting was approved after amendment directing the chair and Commissioner Kam to co‑draft the text and to include the commission vote count in the letter.

Provenance: The vote and associated direction appear in roll‑call exchanges and staff direction beginning at the meeting segment starting 04:18:00; testimony and references to USPS/BRM receipts appear throughout the public testimony segment beginning at 00:50:00.

Ending: Commissioners directed staff to circulate working drafts of both letters for review and to return the items to the commission at the scheduled reconvening.