The state elections office acknowledges the Supreme Court’s ruling on its website and says the Reapportionment Commission’s meeting schedule is “pending.” The Hawaii Supreme Court issued further guidelines in its effort to force the Reapportionment Commission to fix its mistakes.
The Hawaii Supreme Court issued further guidelines in its effort to force the Reapportionment Commission to fix its mistakes.
In a signed, 29-page opinion filed Friday, the high court underlined the reasons why it felt the commission erred by not excluding all nonpermanent residents from its count for redistricting purposes.
“We invoke our power (as granted in the state Constitution) to correct the error in the Final Reapportionment Plan,” the court said. “The Commission must prepare and file a new plan for the 2011 reapportionment of the state legislature.”
In its opinion, the court noted that the commission has already acknowledged a statewide population of at least 62,545 out-of-state university students and active duty military who declare Hawaii not to be their home state. There are also 58,949 military dependents who do not call Hawaii their home state.
That would make a total nonpermanent resident population of 121,494, and most of them live on Oahu.
If that number is subtracted to determine the total number of Hawaii permanent residents, the Big Island will gain a fourth seat in the Senate and an eighth seat in the House.
After that is determined, the commission must then redraw the legislative boundaries that had earlier placed state Reps. Jerry Chang and Mark Nakashima in the same district.
It’s unclear whether the new boundaries adopted by the commission will still pit the incumbent Democrats against each other.
The state elections office acknowledges the Supreme Court’s ruling on its website and says the Reapportionment Commission’s meeting schedule is “pending.”
