Counties Fail to Produce Undeliverable Mail Ballot, Cancelled Registrant Totals
HONOLULU, HI — The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) filed a federal lawsuit against the County Clerk of Maui, Moana Lutey, and County Clerk of Kauai, Jade K. Fountain-Tanigawa, for violating Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), 52 U.S.C. § 20507(i).
PILF also represents Hawaii Elections Commissioner Ralph Cushnie (Kauai County) in the litigation. Cushnie serves on a nine-member body with oversight functions over the Hawaii Chief Election Officer, among other duties.
PILF and Commissioner Cushnie’s requests follow each Hawaii county’s failure to provide related data to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) after the 2024 Election. The counties failed to inform federal surveyors of the undeliverable mail ballot totals for the primary and general contests. They also did not state the number of “Inactive” registrants they cancelled from the voter roll for the 2023-2024 election cycle. Inactive cancellations are mandated under Section 8 of the NVRA as well, 52 U.S.C. § 20507(d).
Honolulu and Hawaii Counties ultimately provided information to PILF and Cushnie, demonstrating data was withheld from the EAC, rather than list maintenance failing to occur. Kauai County denied access to records, saying they weren’t kept; Maui suggested Cushnie’s request could be an ethical violation.
“The Ninth Circuit has held that all documents concerning voter list maintenance must be publicly available,” said PILF President J. Christian Adams. “Maui and Kauai were sued because they refused to provide voter roll documents regarding undeliverable mail ballots. These are crucial documents for accurate voter lists.”
PILF won similar cases recently in Arizona and New Mexico for voter registration list maintenance documents related to the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC).
PILF is litigating separately against Hawaii for access to the statewide voter roll. PILF appealed the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal’s denial to the Supreme Court, given the split with the First Circuit’s decision to grant access to Maine’s roll.
William Harrison of the Harrison Law Center serves as PILF’s local counsel. Joe Nixon and Sam Swanson are PILF’s attorneys in this case.
Case filings are available for download, here.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) is the nation’s only public interest law firm dedicated wholly to election integrity. The Foundation exists to assist states and others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in American elections. Drawing on numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American elections.
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