Hawaii Elections Commission splits after PIG finds no credible Big Island ballot discrepancy; public demands audits and daily counts

The State Elections Commission on Nov. 20 continued a contentious, re‑convened meeting to consider a 99‑page permitted interaction group (PIG) report into alleged discrepancies in the Big Island’s 2024 general election mail ballots. Commissioner Jeffrey Osterkamp, reading the PIG’s findings, told the panel the group “found a complete lack of credible evidence to support the claim of a significant ballot discrepancy” and described the results of the group’s review of available records and interviews. "The USPS receipt totals plainly are incomplete," Osterkamp said, noting the counties and state rely on the statewide voter registration system (SVRS) and the state reported 76,595 mail‑in ballots while the Big Island's SVRS‑based envelope tally was 76,587 — a difference the PIG described as eight ballots, not the tens of thousands alleged by some critics.

The PIG report and Osterkamp’s presentation became the focal point for several hours of heated public testimony. Dozens of speakers told the commission they remained unconvinced. Commissioner Ralph Kushni (Ralph Cushni in testimony) and many public commenters repeatedly cited a separate set of United States Postal Service “business reply mail” (BRM) receipts that a subset of…