Updated

Updated · Hawaii News Now · Aug 1

Tommy Waters Barred From Honolulu District 4 Race as Ballots Already Cast Still Count

Updated

Updated · Hawaii News Now · Aug 1

Tommy Waters Barred From Honolulu District 4 Race as Ballots Already Cast Still Count

Q: Did a 2019 special-election victory quietly trigger Honolulu’s term-limit fight over Tommy Waters’ District 4 seat?

Yes. The current term-limit fight was effectively set in motion by Tommy Waters’ 2019 special-election win, because that victory is what created the dispute over whether he is now seeking a third consecutive term. The legal issue turns on how Honolulu’s charter counts that 2019 term. Waters lost the 2018 race to Trevor Ozawa, challenged the result, and the Hawaii Supreme Court invalidated the election, leading to a special election in April 2019. Waters won and took office in May 2019, several months after the regular term had officially begun in January. Waters argues that because he served only about three years and eight months of that term, it was not a full four-year term and should not count toward the charter’s limit of two consecutive four-year terms. That argument is the basis of his appeal. Judge James Ashford rejected that view, ruling the 2019 contest was still for a regular four-year term, not a vacancy term, even if Waters was sworn in late. Under that reading, the 2019-2022 period counts as Waters’ first consecutive term, his 2022 reelection counts as his second, and his 2026 candidacy would amount to a barred third consecutive term. So the 2019 victory did not “quietly” create the controversy by itself, but it is the key triggering event. Without that court-ordered special election and delayed swearing-in, there would be little basis for the present charter dispute.

Q: Why are votes for an ineligible Honolulu council candidate still being counted, and could they decide whether anyone wins outright?

Yes. Waters’ votes are still being counted because election officials cannot practically remove his name from ballots that were already printed, assembled, mailed and, in many cases, already returned before the court ruled him ineligible. Under Hawaii election procedures, voters who already cast those ballots cannot redo them, and a voter who has already mailed a ballot generally cannot get a replacement. Those votes cannot elect Tommy Waters, and he cannot advance to the general election unless another court order changes the situation. But the votes do still matter for one narrow reason: they are included in the total used to decide whether any eligible candidate wins outright in the nonpartisan primary under Honolulu’s “50% plus one” rule. That means votes for Waters could affect the outcome indirectly. If Trevor Ozawa, Jason Liang or Tara Malia Gregory gets more than half of the votes counted in the contest, that candidate wins immediately. If none of the eligible candidates clears that majority threshold, the top two eligible finishers move on to the Nov. 3 general election. So Waters’ votes can make it harder for an eligible candidate to reach an outright majority, even though Waters himself cannot win. Election officials have said blank ballots and overvotes will not be included in that majority calculation. Officials say this approach follows the Circuit Court order, the city charter and applicable state election law while preserving ballots already legally cast.

3 articles · Updated · Hawaii News Now · Aug 1

Honolulu election officials said Tommy Waters is ineligible for the 2027-2031 City Council term after a Circuit Court found he had already served the two-term limit.
Printed and distributed ballots will not be changed, so Waters’ name stays on them; votes for him will be counted only to determine whether an eligible candidate wins more than 50% in the first special election.
Returned ballots cannot be replaced or changed, leaving thousands of voters unable to recast their choice before the Aug. 8 primary deadline.
Waters said he is preparing an appeal and argued the ruling undermines voter trust, while rival Trevor Ozawa said the process should move forward and only Waters is barred from advancing.