Honolulu Reporter

The Neighborhood Commission Office (NCO) announces today that the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board Sub District 11 Election will hold a revote beginning on Thursday, June 22 and run through Friday, July 7, 2023.

The revote is necessary as a result of a computer glitch that prevented all Sub District 11 voters from being able to electronically submit their votes during the first week of the three week long voting period that ran from April 28 to May 19, 2023.

The NCO verified that some individuals experienced difficulty submitting their online vote for the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board Sub District 11 election. An online repair was completed by the Department of Information Technology (DIT) during the election period and after the fix, all attempts to vote were successful. However, there were 28 individuals who attempted to vote prior to the repair, but were not successful and those individuals did not vote after the system was fully functional.

While the repair allowed 15 days of voting from the afternoon on May 4 through the end of the election at midnight, May 19, 2023, NCO Executive Secretary Lloyd Yonenaka said the right thing to do is revote this race.

“There is no other way to look at it other than to allow everyone in Sub District 11 to vote again,” said Yonenaka. “It is fair and it gives everyone a chance to make their vote count. This is really about making sure every community has a chance to participate in their election.”

Pin numbers and new passcodes will be mailed to voters living in Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board Sub District 11 beginning on Tuesday, June 20, 2023. Voting will run through July 7, 2023.

Yonenaka said the revote will not be done in time to allow the new member to attend the swearing in ceremony scheduled for July 1, 2023, but will allow the new member to attend their first Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board meeting of the new term on July 25, 2023.

Yonenaka said a review of the data by the NCO and DIT showed no issues after the fix was completed and everyone voted without incident in Sub District 11 thereafter. Additionally, a review of the entire voting data showed no anomalies throughout the remaining board races.  The only exception was the Waikiki Neighborhood Board election where a candidate withdrew causing the race to go from contested to uncontested. Stephen Courtney, Deputy Director of DIT, added, “We are committed to upholding the integrity of information technology in electronic voting.”

“The data is posted on our website for everyone to review. Other than people entering an incorrect pin or passcode, or not clicking the submit button, votes were cast without incident,” Yonenaka added.

Revoting in Sub District 11 will by online only.  However, individuals who previously requested paper ballots or those needing assistance in voting online should contact the NCO. The NCO will provide staff and online access in a physical location in Hawaii Kai. Please contact the office at: (808) 768-3710 or by email at nco@honolulu.gov.

Original source can be found here.