HONOLULU — A state House committee has approved stopgap legislation that would move up the state’s primary election from Sept. 18 to Aug. 10.

The bill is moving through the Legislature in case Hawaii does not win a waiver of a federal law that requires states to transmit absentee ballots to military and overseas voters no later than 45 days prior to a presidential or congressional election.
The current primary election date would violate the law.
The state Office of Elections is seeking the waiver.
The measure, HB 2397, was approved Thursday by the House Judiciary Committee. It still has several legislative steps before reaching Gov. Linda Lingle’s desk.