Hawaii Legislative Redistricting Challenge

Lawsuit filed in the Hawaii Supreme Court on behalf of Hawaii voters challenging the state’s new legislative maps drawn with 2020 census data. The petition argues that Hawaii’s new state House and Senate maps violate the Hawaii Constitution because they 1) fail to place state House districts “wholly” within state Senate districts when possible; 2) fail to place state Senate districts “wholly” within congressional districts when possible and 3) the redistricting commission’s process was not independent and transparent. Specifically, the plaintiffs allege that the new plans were “drawn almost exclusively behind closed doors and ignored the district within district requirements, seemingly to favor certain incumbent legislators in direct violation.” The state Supreme Court granted the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction and paused the nomination schedule for legislative elections, but then vacated the preliminary injunction and denied the petition.

Last updated: March 17, 2022 10:46 am EST