‘Aha Delegate Voter Registration Open

News Release from Nai Aupuni

The deadline for Native Hawaiians to register to vote in the election of delegates to the Native Hawaiian constitutional convention, or ‘aha, is Thursday, Oct. 15.

Voting will begin on Nov. 1 and will last through Nov. 30 with the announcement of ‘aha delegates announced publicly on Dec. 1. Between February and April 2016, the ‘aha will be held on Oahu. During that time, if delegates create a governing document, a ratification vote will occur.

“This is an historic election for Hawaiians to determine if a reorganized Hawaiian government will be formed,” said Kūhiō Asam, Na‘i Aupuni president. “The candidates in this election are diverse in their ages, backgrounds and purpose. They are representative of a good cross-section of the Native Hawaiian community and we encourage all Hawaiians to participate and vote.”

Interested voters can check to see if they are certified to vote and reconfirm their postal and e-mail information by completing the form on the Kana’iolowalu website or by calling Kana’iolowalu.

Qualified participants can register online at either the Office of Hawaiian Affairs website or the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission website.

To learn more about the election process, visit Na’i Apuni’s website or e-mail naiaupuni@election-america.com.

Na’i Apuni is made up of a volunteer board of directors from the Hawaiian community. The organization is independent and was established to create a path to Hawaiian self-determination according to organization officials.

The election was contracted out to Election-America, who will organize and run the election.

The timeline leading up to the aha is as follow:

• Oct. 15: Voter registration ends.
• Nov. 1: Ballots for election of delegates sent to certified voters. Voting begins.
• Nov. 30: Delegate voting ends and ballots must be received by this day.
• Dec. 1: Results of election of ‘aha delegates announced publicly.

The aha will be held on Oahu and run between February and April in 2016 over 40 business days.

If the delegates create a governing document, a ratification vote will take place, says Nai Aupuni.