Ballot access requirements for political parties in Hawaii
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Although there are hundreds of political parties in the United States, only certain parties qualify to have the names of their candidates for office printed on election ballots. In order to qualify for ballot placement, a party must meet certain requirements that vary from state to state. For example, in some states, a party may have to file a petition in order to qualify for ballot placement. In other states, a party must organize around a candidate for a specific office; that candidate must, in turn, win a percentage of the vote in order for the party to be granted ballot status. In still other states, an aspiring political party must register a certain number of voters.
To learn more about ballot access requirements for political candidates in Hawaii, click here.
Process for a political party to obtain ballot status
See statutes: Chapter 11, Part V of the Hawaii Revised Statutes
Hawaii state law defines a political party as an association of voters united to promote a common political end or to carry out a particular line of political policy. The party must maintain a general organization throughout the state, including a central committee and county committees. A political party must also have fielded candidates in the last general election for statewide or federal office. A party must also have achieved at least one of the following:[1]
- The party received at least 10% of all votes cast for any statewide office, or in at least half of the congressional districts.
- The party received at least 4% of all votes cast for either all state senate offices or all state house offices statewide.
- The party received at least 2% of all votes cast for all state senate offices and all state representative offices combined statewide.
If a group did not receive enough votes to qualify as a political party, or if a group wishes to create a new political party, that group must qualify by petition using the process described below.[2][3]
- To receive a petition for ballot access, a group must apply to the Hawaii Office of Elections.
- Upon receipt of the application, the Hawaii Office of Elections will issue the petition upon which the group can collect signatures for ballot access. The petition should declare the intention of the signers to qualify as a political party and state the name of the new party.
- The number of signatures collected to gain ballot access must be equal to at least 0.1% of the total number of registered voters of the state as of the most recent general election.
- The qualifying petition must be filed with the Hawaii Office of Elections by the 170th day prior to the primary election. When filing the petition, the following must also be filed:
- Names and addresses of the party central committee officers,
- Names and addresses of the party county committee officers, and
- Party rules.
Once a political party has qualified by petition and continued to qualify for three consecutive elections, that party will be considered qualified for a period of 10 years without needing to petition, provided the party continues to field candidates for election to public office. The 10-year period begins with the next regularly scheduled general election. At the end of the 10-year period, the party must either have qualified by receiving enough votes for their fielded candidates or must re-qualify by petition.[3]
Political parties
As of May 2024, Hawaii officially recognized eight political parties. [4]
| Party | Website link | By-laws/platform link |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party of Hawaii | Link | Party platform |
| Green Party of Hawaii | Link | Party platform |
| Libertarian Party of Hawaii | Link | Party platform |
| No Labels Hawaii | Link | |
| Party for Socialism and Liberation | Link | |
| Republican Party of Hawaii | Link | Party platform |
| Solidarity Party of Hawaii | Link | Party platform |
| We the People |
Historical events
2014
On February 20, 2014, the Independent Party of Hawaii submitted a petition to gain ballot access for the 2014 election. The party estimated that it submitted approximately 2,000 signatures, and they needed at least 706, which was one-tenth of 1 percent of the number of registered voters in the 2012 general election. Later that day, the Hawaii Office of Elections verified that the party had submitted enough signatures to become ballot-qualified.[5][6]
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See also
- Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Hawaii
- Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Hawaii
- List of political parties in the United States
- Democratic Party of Hawaii
- Republican Party of Hawaii
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Hawaii Revised Statutes, "Chapter 11, Part V, Section 61," accessed July 7, 2025
- ↑ Office of Elections, "Political Parties," accessed July 7, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Hawaii Revised Statutes, "Chapter 11, Part V, Section 62," accessed July 7, 2025
- ↑ Hawaii Office of Elections, "Political Parties," accessed May 16, 2022
- ↑ KHON2, "Hannemann could run for governor under new party," Updated February 21, 2014
- ↑ West Hawaii Today, "New political party registers in Hawaii," February 22, 2014
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