Dwayne Yoshina, who has run Hawai'i's elections for more than a decade as the state's chief elections officer, has chosen not to seek another four-year term after it became apparent that the state's elections commission would not support him, several sources said yesterday.

The commission will discuss Yoshina's status and whether to name a temporary replacement at a meeting this morning.

Yoshina is a veteran elections official who has been the state's chief elections officer since the state Legislature made the Office of Elections independent from the lieutenant governor's office in 1995. Yoshina, who could not be reached for comment, had been interested in another term but sources said he withdrew after weighing the opposition.

Gov. Linda Lingle and many of her Republican supporters have been critical of Yoshina's handling of elections for several years, and some Democrats have also questioned whether he had the communications skills to interact with the public on election matters.

But Yoshina had weathered the criticism and had been reappointed twice by the commission.

The commission has eight members, four appointed by Democrats and four by Republicans in the state House and Senate. The commissioners are supposed to pick a ninth member — who could theoretically break partisan ties — but have not done so.

Jean Aoki, director of the legislative committee for the League of Women Voters of Hawai'i, said she is concerned about whether the public has had an opportunity to comment on Yoshina's performance. "We want the process to be transparent and fair," she said.