Hawaii's top court rejects complaint challenging Nov. 3 vote

AUDREY McAVOY

HONOLULU (AP) — The Hawaii Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed an elections complaint challenging the entirety of the Nov. 3 general election in the islands, clearing the way for the results of the state's presidential vote to be certified.

The state's highest court, in a unanimous ruling, said the plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge the results of all federal, state and county races. Further, even if the plaintiffs had standing, they failed to prove any facts in support of their claims, the order said.

Hawaii was one of just two states that hadn't certified the results of the presidential race. West Virginia was the other.

Hawaii's chief elections officer hasn't indicated when he would certify the results.

The complaint was filed by three unsuccessful candidates for office — one Republican and two non-partisans. It sought to invalidate the 2020 primary and general elections and have the state hold new contests.

The plaintiffs alleged the state’s non-partisan Office of Elections violated state law when they implemented the state’s new vote-by-mail system this year. They argued this created opportunities for fraud to be committed. Karl Dicks, a non-partisan candidate who is the lead author of the complaint, said the plaintiffs believed they would find out what kind of fraud was perpetrated once they were allowed to conduct discovery as part of their court case.

The state attorney general’s office responded in a court filing that the potential for abuse or possibility of fraud doesn’t mean either has occurred. It also said the plaintiffs lacked standing to file their complaint seeking to invalidate the entire election.

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