Tempers Flared At GOP Poll Site
An unidentified Hawaii Trump supporter ejected a man wearing a jersey bearing the name of Cruz.
聽on an incident that happened Tuesday at Kawanakoa Middle School, a polling place for the Hawaii Republican presidential caucus.
“Tempers flared briefly at a Honolulu polling place Tuesday after an unidentified Donald Trump supporter physically ejected a man wearing a jersey bearing the name of Trump opponent Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas,” the report explains.
The trouble started, the news service explains, when Mark Bell of Honolulu objected to volunteers dropping votes in an unattended ballot box before the 6 p.m. start of the caucus:
“A GOP staffer told Bell he was not allowed to campaign within 1000 feet of a polling place. Bell said that party rules only required him to stay 50 feet from the ballot boxes.
“Bell said he became concerned about the integrity of the vote earlier in the day when an email blast suggesting that Mark Rubio was dropping from the race was incorrectly attributed to the Cruz campaign.”
On聽a related聽note, the聽 says that the caucus drew over 15,000 voters casting ballots at 45 polling places statewide.
“Both nationally and in Hawaii our party has the momentum and enthusiasm as we continue to set historic highs for GOP turn-out while Democrat voters stay home,” State Party Chair Fritz Rohlfing said in a press release Wednesday. “Our strength at the polls is a clear sign the American people want a new direction that can only be delivered by a Republican president and they’re turning out to vote in record numbers to reject the prospect of another Democrat in the White House.”
Final results are expected to be certified this week and 19 delegates awarded proportionally to the candidates. Donald Trump won the race handily.
Read Civil Beat’s “Shake It Up!” Why Hawaii Republicans Voted For Donald Trump.
