Updated

Updated · Honolulu Civil Beat · Aug 15

Hawaii Tie-Break Draw Ousts 2 GOP Incumbents After 842-842 and 1,212-1,212 Primaries

Updated

Updated · Honolulu Civil Beat · Aug 15

Hawaii Tie-Break Draw Ousts 2 GOP Incumbents After 842-842 and 1,212-1,212 Primaries

Q: Could a single uncorrected signature be the only thing standing between an outright victory and a random draw?

Yes. In a race this close, a single uncorrected signature could absolutely be the difference between a clear winner and a random draw. That is because Hawaii does not count a mail ballot until the voter fixes a signature problem on the return envelope. If even one valid ballot remains uncured by the deadline, it is left out of the final tally. In the House District 43 contest, the margin before cured ballots were added was just one vote, 841 to 840. After the cure period, the race became an exact 842-842 tie. That means one additional counted ballot for either candidate would have prevented the tie and avoided the drawing. The same logic applies more broadly in the Senate District 20 race, though that contest had a larger pre-cure gap of seven votes. With 90 signature-challenged ballots in that district and 36 in House District 43, officials knew the unresolved ballots were numerous enough to change the outcome. What cannot be said from the public results is that one specific voter definitely “caused” the draw. Multiple cured ballots were added, and election officials have not publicly broken down which ballots went to which candidate. But mathematically, in a race ending in an exact tie, one additional valid counted ballot — or one missing ballot that otherwise would have counted — can be decisive. That is why Hawaii’s cure process matters so much in razor-thin elections: one signature can determine whether voters pick the winner or chance does.

3 articles · Updated · Honolulu Civil Beat · Aug 15

Orange plastic balls drawn from a basket settled two Hawaii Republican primaries, knocking out incumbents Kanani Souza and Kurt Fevella after exact ties triggered the state's by-lot rule.
Cured ballots erased narrow leads from the Aug. 8 vote, leaving Souza and Sheila Medeiros tied at 842 each in House District 43 and Bob McDermott and Fevella tied at 1,212 in Senate District 20.
Medeiros won House District 43 outright because no general-election opponent remains, while McDermott advances to face Democrat Markus Owens on Nov. 3.
Final statewide results released Friday showed 33.2% turnout, with 281,214 ballots cast and 32.5% of votes arriving by mail.
The rare drawings followed a 2025 law change prescribing lot selection for tied races, underscoring how Hawaii's low-turnout primaries can hinge on a single corrected ballot.