SB335 amends Hawaii’s election law governing objections to candidate nomination papers under section 12-8, HRS. The bill shifts certain political-party objections away from the circuit court and into the Office of Elections (and the county clerk for county offices), requiring those objections to be filed there and allowing the chief election officer or clerk to make a preliminary decision on the merits within five working days. It also preserves the existing notice requirements to candidates and clarifies that this preliminary review does not create a right to an administrative contested case hearing.
For party-based objections that a candidate is not a member of the party under the party’s filed rules, the bill requires the party officer to file the complaint with the Office of Elections rather than the circuit court, with a filing deadline tied to election day. If a complaint proceeds to court, the bill updates the process for issuing summonses and aligns the filing language with the new Office of Elections procedure. Overall, the measure is a procedural change intended to centralize and speed up nomination-paper challenge handling within election administration.
Impact
The bill would amend section 12-8, Hawaii Revised Statutes, by changing the forum and process for certain nomination-paper objections, especially those brought by political party officers. It would give the Office of Elections and county clerks explicit authority to receive and preliminarily decide objections, while removing references that direct those objections to the circuit court in the first instance. The measure would affect candidates, political parties, the Office of Elections, county clerks, and the courts by reallocating initial review responsibilities and tightening timelines for election-related disputes.
Sentiment
The available record suggests the bill was treated as a procedural election-administration measure rather than a highly controversial policy change. There are no committee transcripts or recorded votes showing strong support or opposition, but the measure was deferred by the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 6, 2025, indicating it did not advance at that stage. The bill’s framing and report title suggest an effort to streamline candidate challenge procedures and reduce court involvement in the initial review process.
Contention
The main point of potential contention is the transfer of authority from the circuit court to the Office of Elections for deciding political-party objections to nomination papers. Supporters would likely view this as a faster, more centralized process for election disputes, while opponents may be concerned about moving quasi-adjudicative decisions away from the judiciary and limiting procedural protections, especially since the bill expressly states that no administrative contested case hearing is created. Another possible issue is the compressed filing and decision deadlines, which could be seen as improving election efficiency but also as constraining the time available to challenge or defend candidacies.