Office of Elections

The Elections Commission is composed of the following:

• Two (2) members appointed by the Senate President
• Two (2) members appointed by the Senate Minority Leader
• Two (2) members appointed by the House Speaker
• Two (2) members appointed by the House Minority Leader
• One (1) member selected by a two-thirds vote of the Elections Commission to serve as Chairperson

Each group of four (4) Elections Commission members selected by each house will include (1) member from each of the four counties: Hawaii, Maui, Kauai, Oahu.

A person from the same county as the departing Elections member will fill a vacancy in the Elections Commission. If the vacancy is not filled within fifteen (15) days, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court will fill the vacancy.

The duties of the Elections Commission provided under Hawaii Revised Statutes §11-7.5 are as follows:

• Hold Public Hearings;
• Investigate and hold hearings for receiving evidence of any violations and complaints;
• Adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91;
• Employ, without regard to chapter 76, a full-time Chief Election Officer, pursuant to section 11-1.6; and;
• Conduct a performance evaluation of the Chief Election Officer within two months after the date a general election is certified;
• Hold a public hearing on the performance of the Chief Election Officer and consider the information gathered at the hearing in deliberations on the Chief Election Officer's reappointment; and
• Advise the Chief Election Officer on matters relating to elections