Posted on: Wednesday, July 31, 2002

Candidate added to state House ballot

Associated Press

Democratic state Rep. Kenneth Hiraki won't get a free ride in his re-election after all.

The state Office of Elections has reversed itself and is putting Republican candidate James Hardway on the primary election ballot for the 28th District seat now held by Hiraki, representing the Honolulu-Kaka'ako area.

Just before the July 23 filing deadline, election officials rejected three of the 17 signatures Hardway had on his nomination papers. The law requires 15 signatures of registered voters.

The office announced yesterday that a review of rejected signatures found one that should have been counted, meaning Hardway had met the filing requirements.

Last week, chief elections officer Dwayne Yoshina said questions about the Social Security number and date of birth of one the voters listed on Hardway's petition were not resolved until after the 4:30 p.m. filing deadline.

He said he had to check with state attorneys to determine if he had authority to put Hardway's name on the ballot.