Opinion
SCEC-20-0000525
09-03-2020
MILILANI B. TRASK; KU KAHAKALAU; ELDON-NALEI PATE-KAHAKALAU; ROBERT CAZIMERO; PATRICK S.K. SMITH aka KAMEALOHA SMITH; RYNETTE K. KEEN aka KAIPO KEEN; HERBERT ISHIBASHI aka PUA ISHIBASHI; DAVID TRASK, III; JACKIE BURKE; CHARLES M. HEAUKULANI; VERDA V. JENKINS aka OLA JENKINS; LEONA LEIALOHA; DAVID HEAUKULANI; BRADFORD LEIALOHA; BARBARA ARTHURS; ANA NAWAHINE KAHOOPII; BARBRA CUTTANCE; RALPH C. BOYEA; ALBERT K. KAHOOPII, JR.; GRETA CORREA; IWALANI APO; ROWENA AKANA; JUDITH E. LYON; ROBERTA CABRAL; KEALII MAKEKAU; JAMIE CLARK; BARTON McCOLLOUGH, SR.; LAURA DESOTO-McCULLOUGH; RB McCOLLOUGH; GLORIA ISHIBASHI; KANOENANI CASTRO; MITCHELL CASTRO; ALOHI MESA; KAUAI ISHIBASHI; KIANA KEALIIHOLOKAHIKI BOURNE; LESLIE-JAMES KAIMIAINA BOURNE; CELII-RAINE UA; SARAI UA; ABRIEN ALVAREZ; ANUHEA TORRES-LEIALOHA; NANEA TORRES-LEIALOHA; ALLISON ABADILLA; KRISTYELLEN M. KOBASHIGAWA; RONALD DESOTO, SR.; MAILE DESOTO; MANUEL DESOTO; TRACI BROWN; LEONA SERAO; KATHERINE HA'I-KELLY; STEPHEN S. NORRIS; LUCEAN NICOLAS; BRUCE D. WITZENBURGER; SHANNON MATSON; JOHN PETER MATSON; and BRUCE DESOTO, SR., Plaintiffs, v. BENJAMIN K. LINDSEY and SCOTT T. NAGO, in his capacity as Chief Election Officer, State of Hawai'i, Defendants.
ORIGINAL PROCEEDING ORDER DISMISSING COMPLAINT
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Upon consideration of Plaintiffs' "Complaint" filed on August 24, 2020; Defendant Chief Election Officer Scott T. Nago's motion to dismiss filed on August 28, 2020; Defendant Benjamin K. Lindsey's answer, filed on August 31, 2020, the respective supporting documents, and the record, it appears that: (1) Plaintiffs are challenging the residency of Defendant Lindsey and his eligibility to run for the position of Trustee, Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) from the island of Hawai'i, and asking this court to find that Defendant Benjamin K. Lindsey does not satisfy the requirements to be a candidate for the Hawai'i Island OHA seat; (2) a challenge to a candidate's residency is governed by HRS § 11-13, which provides in relevant part "[i]n case of question, final determination of residence shall be made by the clerk, subject to appeal to the board of registration under part III of this chapter"; and (3) this court therefore lacks jurisdiction to consider this election contest complaint. Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the motion to dismiss is granted, and the complaint is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
DATED: Honolulu, Hawai'i, September 3, 2020.
/s/ Mark E. Recktenwald
/s/ Paula A. Nakayama
/s/ Sabrina S. McKenna
/s/ Michael D. Wilson
/s/ Shirley M. Kawamura