Rep. Hanabusa To File Lawsuit To Delay Friday Senate Special Election

FILE - This Dec. 24, 2012 file photo shows Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, D-Hawaii speaking in Honolulu. President Barack Obama is endorsing Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz in his primary race against Hanabusa. That's according to ... FILE - This Dec. 24, 2012 file photo shows Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, D-Hawaii speaking in Honolulu. President Barack Obama is endorsing Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz in his primary race against Hanabusa. That's according to a Democratic National Committee official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly about it before Obama's announcement. . (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File) MORE LESS
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Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D-HI) plans to file a lawsuit Wednesday to delay a special election on Friday in the two precincts of Hawaii’s Puna District that have been hit hard by Hurricane Iselle.

As a result of the hurricane, some voters in those two precincts were unable to vote in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate between Hanabusa and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI). Schatz has been leading by a slim 1,635 vote lead in the too-close-to-call primary contest but there are enough votes in the remaining two districts to, conceivably, flip the race in Hanabusa’s favor (even if the odds are slim).

“Fundamentally, what we are trying to preserve here is the people’s right to vote and making sure that people know that their vote counts,” Hanabusa said in an interview with Hawaii News Now.

Hanabusa’s lawsuit will ask the Hawaii Supreme Court for a restraining order that would delay the vote. The argument in the lawsuit is that the people in the district need more time to recover from the hurricane.

“People are definitely without water, definitely without electricity, and it’s going to be a while,” Hanabusa said.

(H/t: The Hill)

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  1. The Asian contingent in Hawaii (old school) need to let progressives win or lose on on the merits of the election results.

    Pandering to ‘buy’ votes regardless of the circumstances, seems desperate. This gal supports Social Security cuts, end of story.

    The suit will be refused.

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