US Supreme Court Upholds Injunction Against State-Sponsored, Race-based Election

HONOLULU, HAWAII–December 2, 2015–Today, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the decision of Justice Anthony Kennedy to halt the counting of ballots or certification of results in Hawaii’s race-based Native Hawaiian election, pending final disposition of the appeal of Akina v. Hawaii in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In applauding the ruling, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii President Keli’i Akina, Ph.D. stressed that it was a significant victory for all citizens of Hawaii, and could be the first step towards the end of the state’s wasteful and divisive nation-building effort.

“The ultimate winners are all people of Hawaii, including Native Hawaiians, who do not support the wasting of millions of dollars of public funds that have been diverted from the real needs of Hawaiians for housing, jobs, education, and health care,” said Dr. Akina, who is also a plaintiff in the case brought by Judicial Watch. “This is a powerful step in holding the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Native Hawaiian Role Commission accountable for their unconstitutional and un-Hawaiian attempts to divide people based on race.”

“We are pleased that a majority of the Supreme Court justices granted our motion and stopped Na’i Aupuni from counting any votes until after our appeal to the 9th Circuit,” added Michael A. Lilly, former Hawaii Attorney General and attorney for the plaintiffs. “One requirement for our motion was to show that  we were likely to prevail on the merits of our claims. In short, the Na’i Aupuni election is an unconstitutional race-based election being conducted by the State of Hawaii.  We are confident that we will ultimately prevail.”

“The fact that OHA and the state have poured millions of dollars into this unconstitutional election prompts some very serious questions about how the needs of Hawaiians are being served,” stated Dr. Akina. “It is time for the state to stop this wasteful and divisive nation-building effort and pay attention to the real needs of Hawaiians, not the special interests of an entrenched elite.”