A race for a seat in the state Legislature that turned out to be the biggest nail-biter in Hawaii’s Nov. 5 general election might not be settled yet.
The result of the contest has been appealed to the Hawaii Supreme Court by Corey Rosenlee, a James Campbell High School teacher and Democrat who lost by 11 votes to Republican incumbent Rep. Elijah Pierick to represent communities including Royal Kunia, Village Park, Ho‘opili, Honouliuli and part of Waipahu in House District 39.
Rosenlee, the former head of the powerful Hawaii State Teachers Association, alleges in his complaint filed Monday that some voters snuck into voting lines on Election Day after a 7 p.m. deadline to be in line, and that other voters decided not to vote on Election Day because lines were too long.
Rosenlee’s complaint also contends that some voters who cast mail-in ballots weren’t given enough time to correct ballot envelope signature deficiencies.
Such “irregularities and illegalities” are grounds to invalidate the House District 39 election results and to hold a new election, according to Rosenlee’s legal challenge.
If granted, a do-over election could extend what already has been a topsy-turvy contest.
Pierick, a church pastor who was first elected in 2022, initially trailed Rosenlee by 478 votes in the first state Office of Elections report counting a roughly estimated 90% of all votes.
But Pierick’s deficit narrowed to 71 votes after two additional tallies, and then the race flipped with Pierick ahead by 20 votes in a fourth report released the evening of Nov. 6.
The ever-so-slim margin triggered the only automatic recount for any Hawaii contest for elected office this year.
State election workers conducted the recount under the watch of volunteer “official observers” from both the Democratic and Republican parties, and the audit found no difference in votes for either candidate.
Then, after a five- business-day window for voters to correct issues with required signatures on envelopes of mail-in ballots, Pierick’s lead slimmed to 11 votes — 4,712 to 4,701 — and this was the “final” report and result.
Rosenlee contends the outcome could have been different if it were not for “improper” handling of voting procedures.
According to Rosenlee’s complaint, more than 11 people entered the line at one or both of the city’s two voter service centers on Oahu after 7 p.m. on Election Day and illegally cast votes that were counted.
Under state voting rules, anyone in line when the polls close can vote. Rosenlee contends the city assigned one elections official and one special duty police officer to identify the last person in line as a way to ensure no one joined a line after 7 p.m.
Hundreds of people were in line, and at Kapolei Hale the last person in line waited close to five hours before casting his ballot.
“Given the length of the lines … and darkness, a single election official and single special duty police officer could not possibly have ensure(d) that no one not in line at 7:00 pm joined the line after that time and cast a vote that was counted in the current election results,” Rosenlee’s complaint states.
According to the House District 39 recount report, Pierick received a much higher percentage of in- person votes and a slightly lower percentage of mail-in votes than Rosenlee.
Rosenlee’s complaint also alleges that more than 11 voters were unable to vote in person on Election Day because of the time required to wait in very long lines.
With regard to mail-in voting, Rosenlee alleges that some voters weren’t given enough time by City and County of Honolulu election officials to correct ballot envelope issues that often involve a missing signature or a signature that doesn’t match the one on file.
Voters have five business days following Election Day to correct a signature deficiency. Rosenlee’s complaint claims that some affected voters did not receive such notice until seven days after the election, which included a Saturday and Sunday and the Veterans Day holiday.
According to Rosenlee’s complaint, the City Clerk reported that 75 ballot envelopes from voters in House District 39 had signature issues as of Nov. 8.
Pierick reached out to constituents in social media videos on Nov. 9 urging them to check with the Office of Elections to see if they were affected, and if so then to take action to have their ballots count “because that is so important, whether you’re Republican or a Democrat, to have voter integrity and clean elections.”
Based on the final tally, cured envelope issues added 15 votes for Rosenlee and six for Pierick.
Rosenlee contends that the City Clerk didn’t do enough to provide timely notice to some voters who had ballot envelope signature issues because they were sent letters but not contacted by phone or email.
“For voters needing to cure their ballots, it was not reasonable for the Clerk to make the bare minimum effort to contact those voters by using only the postal service over the course of a period of time including both a Sunday and a Federal holiday when mail would not travel,” the complaint said.
Rex Quidilla, elections administrator for the City and County of Honolulu, could not be reached Friday for immediate comment.
Scott Nago, chief elections officer for the state Office of Elections, said the office does not comment on pending litigation.
Pierick, in a text message, said he has issues with Hawaii’s voting system and would like to see changes that include more than two places to vote on Oahu on Election Day, a switch back to in-person voting except for voters with unique circumstances, and counting ballots by hand instead of by machine.
Hawaii election officials routinely advise voters to vote early, in part to avoid potential lines and to provide time to correct potential ballot submission issues.
Additionally, voters can check or receive automated notifications about the status of mail-in ballot submissions using the free BallotTrax service.
More information about BallotTrax is available online at hawaii.ballottrax.net/voter/.
