Election date up to high court
By Kevin Dayton and Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
Attorney General Earl Anzai yesterday asked the state Supreme Court to decide whether a special election can be held at the same time as the general election, to pick a temporary replacement for the late U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink.
Anzai said he is "optimistic" the court will rule that the state elections officer has the discretion to move up the special election from Nov. 30 to Nov. 5, the same date as the general election.
Holding the two elections together would save the state an estimated $2 million, and would fill Mink's 2nd District House seat in time for what may be a series of important budget and other votes in Congress in November.
Gov. Ben Cayetano and legislators also discussed the possibility of holding a special session of the Legislature to change state election law if the Supreme Court rejects Anzai's filing.
In theory, lawmakers could use a special session to pass a new law specifically allowing the special election to be held Nov. 5, but top lawmakers appeared to be lukewarm to the idea yesterday.
Mink, 74, died Sept. 28 after developing viral pneumonia. Chief elections officer Dwayne Yoshina announced on Sept. 30 that a special election would be held Nov. 30 to select someone to serve out the last five weeks of Mink's unfinished term.
That schedule was dictated by state law, which requires elections officials to give 60 days notice before a special election to fill a vacancy in the U.S. House.
In the court filing yesterday, Anzai cited another passage in the same law that specifies that the special election "shall be conducted and the results ascertained so far as practicable, in accordance with this title."
That passage "suggests" Yoshina can decide for himself whether any of the election laws relating to special elections are "practicable," and if not, whether they must actually be followed, according to Anzai's filing.
If so, that could mean Yoshina could decide whether to waive the requirement that the public be given 60 days notice of the special election.
The filing also seeks guidance on whether the special-election voting must be open to voters who lived in Mink's district in 2000, or to voters who live in the district now. The boundaries of Mink's district were redrawn last year.
As of yesterday, House and Senate leaders did not appear to support calling a five-day special session to change state election law to specifically allow the general election and special election to be held at the same time.
Senate President Robert Bunda, D-22nd (Wahiawa, Waialua, Sunset Beach), said he and some of his colleagues had reservations about calling a special session.
He said Senate staff is researching whether a special session would be feasible in this situation. A major concern is whether elections officials will have enough time to coordinate a special election if the law is changed.
"There are a lot of things that are left hanging," Bunda said. "To the extent that the governor voiced his opinion and voiced his concerns, that's all what we're going on. We don't have any other information other than what he relayed back to me."
House leaders met with Yoshina yesterday to discuss whether a change in state law is necessary. House Majority Leader Marcus Oshiro said he is not inclined to return to the State Capitol for a special session.
Oshiro said he wants to wait to see how the court will rule, but that there are potential practical and legal problems with calling a special session to change the law.
One problem is that candidates have already filed to run to complete Mink's term with the understanding that the election would be held Nov. 30.
Oshiro, D-40th (Wahiawa, Whitmore Village), said changing the timetable of the election part-way through the process might be unfair to the candidates, and could lead to challenges of the results of the special election.
Yoshina said in a statement released yesterday that if the special election is to be held with the general election, the candidate filing deadline would be moved up from Oct. 15 to Oct. 10. He said the filing deadline change would be necessary to allow time to print ballots for the general election and to accommodate other administrative deadlines.
Those who had filed for the special election for Mink's unfinished term as of Thursday are Chas Collins, Kekoa D. Kaapu, Art P. Reyes, John Mayer, John L. Baker, Malama Solomon, Dan A. Cole, Mike Gagne, Carolyn Golojuch and Walter R. Barnes. Republican state Rep. Bob McDermott, who is running for Mink's seat in the general election, also said he would run in the special election for her unexpired term.
Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
