Supreme Court Halts Historic Hawaiian Election
by Chris D'Angelo, Associate Editor, HuffPost Hawaii
The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a historic and controversial election from moving forward in Hawaii.
Native Hawaiians are currently nearing the end of a month-long election to select delegates for a constitutional convention, but on Friday, Justice Anthony Kennedy issued an order blocking both the counting of votes and the certification of any winners "pending further order" by the court.
The election is seen by many as a first step for Native Hawaiian self-determination. The elected delegates would attend a constitutional convention and recommend a form of self-government, deciding what -- if any -- relationship that government should have with the United States.
But opponents of the election say the process is unconstitutional and racially exclusive.
A group of native and non-native residents is challenging the election, arguing Hawaii residents who don't have Native Hawaiian ancestry are being excluded from a vote that affects the state. They also argue that the election is racially exclusive and therefore unconstitutional.
Attorneys representing Hawaii have argued that the state isn't involved in the election -- an argument that a federal judge agreed with last month. In October, U.S. District Court Judge J. Michael Seabright said the election was legal since it was a private poll being conducted by the private nonprofit Nai Aupuni.
Nai Aupuni said in a statement Friday that Native Hawaiian self-governance has been discussed for over two hundred years without tangible results. And despite the recent ruling, the group remains confident that the election will ultimately be ruled legal.
"Reorganizing a government is not easy and it takes the courage and will of the candidates to take the first step in this historic process," Nai Aupuni said.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/supreme-court-halts-hawaiian-election_5658c6e8e4b08e945feb3ecc
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