Hawai’i has its own election controversy. But this one, unlike the presidential bog in Florida, should be easy to put to rest. Kaui Amsterdam, who was among the 87 candidates for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees who
Hawai’i has its own election controversy. But this one, unlike the presidential bog in Florida, should be easy to put to rest.
Kaui Amsterdam, who was among the 87 candidates for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees who were defeated in last month’s general election, is claiming through legal channels that the nine who were elected shouldn’t have been. Amsterdam is challenging the outcome because non-Native Hawaiians were allowed to vote in the race and be among the 96 hopefuls who ran.
There’s just one problem.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in February that under the Constitution, non-Hawaiians had to be allowed to participate in the OHA election. Overturning a ruling by the nation’s highest court is no easy task. And in this case, the Amsterdam’s meddling is a frivolous and misguided attempt to derail the voters’ will, since the new board members can’t be sworn into office until the legal challenge is resolved.
That should be done quickly. Although state officials had 10 days to respond to the challenge after it was filed last Friday, they and the courts need far less time to sweep this matter into the dustbin where it belongs.
