Election chief defends drawing names from basket to break primary ties
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii’s chief election officer, Scott Nago, is defending his decision to break two primary election ties by drawing names from a basket.
Read more Kailua military officer sentenced to 20 years in prison for child sexual enticement
State law mandates that tiebreakers be done by lot, or by chance and that the chief election officer decides the way that should be done. Options include a coin flip or Jan Ken Po.
In this case, Nago drew names in plastic eggs from a basket.
Two ties in one election
It is rare for an election to have one tie. This year, Hawaii had two on the primary election.
One was in House District 43, where incumbent Kanani Souza and challenger Sheila Medeiros each received 842 votes in the winner-take-all race.
The other was in Senate District 20, where incumbent Kurt Fevella and challenger Bob McDermott each ended up with 1,212 votes. The winner would go on to the general election.
What the law says
Hawaii law says if a race ends in a tie, that tie shall be decided by the chief election officer in a state race, or the clerk in a county race, by lot.
Nago said he picked the basket draw because that’s how the state determines which group, Republican or Democrat, is named first on the ballot.
“We tried to mimic the way we do the party drawing, which is the order of the political parties that show up on the primary election ballot,” Nago said. “That’s done by drawing. So we just tried to mimic that process, since we know that works and we’ve done it before.”
Candidate reaction
Sheila Medeiros, the representative-elect for District 43, said she did not approve of the way her race was decided.
Read more First Alert Forecast: A developing storm ‘Moke’ or ‘Iselle’ could impact the islands this weekend
“I believe that this process takes away, disenfranchises the electorate,” Medeiros said. “This should have gone to the general and let the voters decide.”
Comparisons to other states
Colin Moore, HNN’s political analyst, said deciding a tie by drawing lots is not unusual.
“Although this seems strange, it’s actually not that unusual,” Moore said. “Twenty-eight states do this by lot or some form of random chance.”
Calls for change
Camron Hurt of Common Cause Hawaii said the outcome should not have been left to chance.
“I think ultimately it needed to be a special election,” Hurt said. “A chance should not pick who governs us. The people should pick who governs us.”
Nago said he understands the criticism but noted the process follows the law.
“To go through that whole campaign process, work hard, and then have it all come down to chance,” Nago said. “I certainly can understand why they wouldn’t be happy about that.”
The legislature can change the process, but it is too late for this election cycle.
Read more 3 injured after vehicle hits tree, travels down embankment in Tantalus
View our full Election 2026 coverage.
Post Comment