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Public pressure mounts as Elections Commission declines to adopt PIG report and rejects DOJ referral on Hawaii County audit
Summary
On April 1 the Elections Commission heard hours of public testimony urging a hand count and a formal audit of Hawaii County after a PIG report found inconsistent or missing ballot-accounting records; motions to refer the matter to the U.S. Department of Justice and to adopt the PIG’s recommendations failed in roll-call votes, leaving unresolved demands for independent verification and calls for removal of the chief elections officer.
The State Elections Commission on April 1 faced sustained public pressure over ballot accounting and chain-of-custody concerns stemming from Hawaii County’s 2024 election tally, but the body declined to adopt a permitted-interaction-group (PIG) report and voted down a motion to ask the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate.
Public commenters — including party officials, candidates and long-time election observers — testified for hours that the PIG’s findings show incomplete or inconsistent daily ballot accounting, missing transfer logs and gaps in chain-of-custody documentation. Several speakers urged the commission to hand-count ballot envelopes from Hawaii County, to remove Chief Elections Officer Scott Nago if he would not enable an audit, and to obtain USPS business-reply-mail (BRM) receipts as an independent reconciliation source.
The commission’s PIG report concluded counties did not produce consistent daily ballot counts and that required records under H.A.R. 3-177-453 were not provided for the 2024 general election. Commissioners debated whether the PIG had the exhibits and documentary evidence to sustain the report’s conclusions; some commissioners argued the PIG lacked necessary supporting exhibits and that requests to counties had been refused by county legal counsel.
Commissioner Dylan moved to refer the matter to the U.S. Department of Justice for independent review; after robust debate the motion failed in a roll-call vote. Separately, a motion to accept or adopt the PIG report and recommendations also failed after commissioners split over the report’s evidentiary basis and whether board members had been sufficiently included in drafting.
Throughout the meeting Chief Elections Officer Scott Nago and staff responded that the office maintains records and that federal retention rules (commonly discussed as a 22-month retention period) limit when sealed materials can be opened; Nago said the office will implement more standardized daily accounting for future elections. Commissioners and testifiers disputed whether the retention rule prevents audits within that timeframe and whether the data already supplied should allow independent verification now.
Other procedural steps carried: commissioners voted to invite County Clerk John Henriks to the next meeting to discuss county records, and the commission formally documented that the required ballot-accounting records demonstrating compliance with H.A.R. 3-177-453 were not provided for the 2024 general election (a separate motion that passed). Several commissioners said they will prepare a specific list of daily logs and documents they expect the Office of Elections and county clerks to produce before the next meeting.
Public testimony included direct accusations and heated language; the commission’s votes left the core disputes unresolved, and many public speakers said they intended to continue filing complaints with external authorities. The commission set its next meeting for May 6, 2026.
What happened next: commissioners directed staff to prepare follow-up documentation and invitations; the commission did not authorize a hand count or remove the chief elections officer at this meeting.
