ELECTION NOTICE TO BE SENT TO MORE THAN 95,000 CERTIFIED VOTERS ON THE NATIVE HAWAIIAN ROLL

Voters will choose delegates to an ‘Aha – a Constitutional Convention for Native Hawaiians

News Release from Nai Aupuni, July 31, 2015

UPDATE Aug 4, 2015: Nai Aupuni 'Notice of Elections' Posted Online

HONOLULU – Election-America, a private elections company, will send a “Notice of Election” to eligible voters on the Native Hawaiian Roll on Monday, Aug. 3, informing them of details on participating in the process to a governance ‘Aha, or constitutional convention, Na‘i Aupuni announced today.

Na‘i Aupuni, an independent, nonprofit organization overseeing the elections, hired ElectionAmerica as the vendor to run the voting procedure. Na‘i Aupuni’s role is to create a path or process that will lead to an election of delegates for the ‘Aha. The ‘Aha delegates will consider different options for Native Hawaiian self-determination. If the delegates create a governance document for ratification, that document may go to a ratification vote by all certified Hawaiian voters depending on any instructions from the delegates in that regard.

There are 95,690 people who have been certified at this time by the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission to participate in the elections. The filing deadline for Hawaiians who wish to run as ‘Aha delegates is Sept. 15, 2015. Native Hawaiians who have not registered yet, but want to vote in the elections have until Oct. 15, 2015 to register. Na‘i Aupuni encourages all Native Hawaiians to participate in this historic opportunity.

The Native Hawaiian Roll Commission recently released the list of Hawaiians certified as of July 10. Hawaiians can continue to register to take part in the elections at the Roll’s website (www.kanaiolowalu.org) or at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs website (www.oha.org/registry). Information about the elections and the voting process can be found at the Na‘i Aupuni website (www.naiaupuni.org) or email Election-America at naiaupuni@election-america.com.

The timeline of the delegate election process:

• Aug. 3: Notice of Election sent to certified Hawaiian voters.
• Sept. 15: Deadline to file as a delegate.
• End of September: List of qualified delegates announced.
• Oct. 15: Voter registration closes.
• Nov. 1: Ballots for election of delegates sent to certified voters.
• Nov. 30: Delegate voting ends.
• Dec. 1: Election results announced publicly.

About Na‘i Aupuni

Na‘i Aupuni is an independent organization made up of a volunteer board of directors from the Hawaiian community. It exists solely to help establish a path for Hawaiian self-determination and is guiding an election, convention and ratification process where all Hawaiians who wish to participate can be heard. Na‘i Aupuni was formed in December 2014 and is separate and independent from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the State of Hawaii.

For further information about Na‘i Aupuni and the upcoming elections, please visit http://www.naiaupuni.org/.

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