Political Party Qualification

Petition

To request a petition, an  Application for Petition to Qualify a Political Party must be submitted to the Office of Elections. Upon receipt of the completed application the Office of Elections will issue the petition.

The petition must contain 833 signatures of currently registered voters in the State of Hawaii. This constitutes not less than one-tenth of one percent of the total registered voters of the state as of the last preceding general election.

There were 832,466 registered voters in the 2020 General Election.

Withdrawal of Signatures

A voter may withdraw his/her signature from a petition, as long as the petition has not been filed. A notice must be submitted to the chief election officer that includes the voter’s name, Social Security Number, residence address, date of birth, and signature. The chief election officer will notify the group or individual that the signature will not be counted.

Filing Petition

The deadline to file a political party petition was Thursday, February 24, 2022, 4:30 pm.

The petition must be accompanied by the following:

  • Names and addresses of the officers of the central committee
  • Names and addresses of the officers of the respective county committees
  • Party rules

Objections

An objection can be made by any political party or the chief election officer. The objection must be filed with the chief election officer no later than 4:30 pm on the 20th business day after the petition has been filed. The chief election officer may extend the objection period up to ten additional business days, if the group or persons desiring to qualify as a political party is provided with notice of extension and the reasons therefor. If no objection is raised, the petition will be approved. If an objection is made, any decision will be made no later than 4:30 pm on the 30th day after filing the objection or no later than 4:30 pm on the 100th day prior to the primary election, whichever occurs first.

For complete information, please refer to HRS §§11-6, and 11-61 through 11-65.

Last Updated on October 14, 2021