Keoni Souza Asks Hawaii Supreme Court For Recount In OHA Race
The race fell just outside of the threshold for an automatic recount.
A losing candidate for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is asking the state鈥檚 highest court to strike the election results in his race over problems he sees in Hawaii鈥檚 recount law.
Keoni Souza, who lost to incumbent OHA Trustee Kelii Akina by just 1,623 votes, wants a hand recount of ballots in the hopes that such a recount might turn up enough supposedly uncounted votes cast in the race.聽
In his complaint filed Monday, Souza focuses on the more than 185,000 blank votes recorded in his race with Akina.聽
That race, one of the tightest during the general election, falls outside the threshold for election officials to conduct an automatic recount of the results.
Souza, who is representing himself in the elections challenge, is also asking the state Supreme Court to toss the original results and order a new special election to take place.
The state Supreme Court has already dismissed at least five other election challenges since the August primary.
Gov. David Ige, Hawaii Chief Elections Officer Scott Nago and the four county clerks are named as defendants in Souza鈥檚 complaint. None filed answers as of Monday afternoon.
Read the complaint below.
