Commission deadlocks on DOJ referral as public demands audit, envelope counts and removal of elections director

Public testimony at the April 1 Elections Commission meeting pressed commissioners to order a hand count of Hawaii County ballot return envelopes, to obtain USPS business-reply-mail receipts and to consider removing Chief Elections Officer Scott Nago. The meeting’s PIG (permitted interaction group) readout identified inconsistent or missing daily accounting and chain-of-custody records and highlighted a sizable gap between county-reported envelopes and state-reported ballots for Hawaii County.

A motion to refer the audit to the U.S. Department of Justice was debated and failed on a roll call vote after commissioners split on whether to exhaust state-level remedies first. Commissioner Dylan and members pressing for faster action argued that repeated efforts at county, legislative and state-auditor levels had produced no resolution; others said internal and legal avenues were still available and cautioned against a federal referral without exhausting state channels.

In the course of the meeting, Office of Elections director Scott Nago told the commission the department would maintain custody of ballots and that certain procedures — including the 22‑month federal/state retention period — limit when bins may be unsealed. Nago said the office will work toward providing daily accounting in future elections but described some county records as inventory documents rather than sealed chain-of-custody forms.

The Commission did approve one narrower, binding measure: by roll call it decided to formally document that required ballot-accounting records demonstrating compliance with Hawaii Administrative Rule 3‑177‑453 were not provided for the 2024 general election. That motion passed and places the finding on the commission record while the body continues to discuss next steps, including inviting county clerks and pursuing legislative or legal remedies.

Public speakers who testified for an independent audit and immediate envelope counts included long-time observers, candidates and party officials; several urged the Commission to remove or compel greater oversight of the chief elections officer. Others from election-administration and advocacy groups urged patience and better cooperation among state and county offices so records can be delivered and reconciled.

The Commission agreed to invite Hawaii County Clerk John Henriks to answer questions at a future meeting and to request an update from Representative Shimemezu on legislative efforts — steps supporters said would help resolve disagreements about what records exist and how they should be used for reconciliation.