Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
Redistricting in Hawaii after the 2010 census
 in Hawaii |
| Note: Redistricting takes place every 10 years after completion of the United States Census. The information here pertains to the 2010 redistricting process. For information on more recent redistricting developments, see this article. |
| Redistricting in Hawaii | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Partisan control: Democrat | |
| Process: Hawaii Reapportionment Commission | |
| Deadline: 150 days after commission forms | |
| Total seats | |
| Congress: 2 | |
| State Senate: 25 | |
| State House: 51 | |
This article details the timeline of redistricting events in Hawaii following the 2010 census. It also provides contextual information about the redistricting process and census information.
Hawaii did not gain or lose any seats from the reapportionment after the 2010 census. The state population grew to nearly 1.4 million residents, an increase of 12 percent.[1]
Process
- See also: State-by-state redistricting procedures
During the 2010 redistricting cycle, the Hawaii Reapportionment Commission was responsible for redistricting. This was one of 9 commissions nationwide that was responsible for redistricting. Hawaii's redistricting commission was composed of 9 members, chosen by the following:
- 2 by the Speaker of the House
- 2 by the President of the Senate
- 2 by the House Minority Leader
- 2 by the Senate Minority Leader
These eight members then voted to appoint the ninth member.
The Hawaii Constitution provided authority for and outlines the duties of a reapportionment commission in Section 2 of Article IV.
Article IV is entitled Reapportionment and had ten sections detailing the process in the state. Section 6 sets the following 8 criteria for apportionment within basic island units:
| “ |
|
” |
Public Meetings
The Hawaii Reapportionment Commission held several public meetings on redistricting. Information on past meetings can be found here.
Public input
Members of the public could draft and submit their own redistricting maps on the Hawaii Reapportionment Commission website.
Leadership
The eight appointed members failed to meet the 30-day deadline to agree on a ninth member to serve as Chairman. The authority to select the final member went to the Hawaii Supreme Court.[3] The five members of the court all agreed to appoint retired Circuit Court Judge Victoria Marks. Marks, who retired in 2009, served 21 years as a judge. Since retiring, she had been working for Dispute Prevention and Resolution, Inc.[4] The Commission held meetings on May 11, May 24, and June 9.[5]
The 8 appointed members of the 2011 Reapportionment Commission were:[6]
- Anthony Takitani- (appointed by Senate President) Vice Chair
- Dylan Nonaka- (appointed by House Minority Leader) Vice Chair
- Clarice Hashimoto- (appointed by Speaker of the House)
- Harold S. Matsumoto- (appointed by Speaker of the House)
- Lorrie Lee Stone- (appointed by Senate President)
- Terry E. Thomason- (appointed by House Minority Leader)
- Elisabeth N. Moore- (Appointed by Senate Minority Leader)
- Cal Chipchase, IV- (Appointed by Senate Minority Leader)
Subcommittee
The commission also formed a subcommittee to handle the more technical details of redistricting. It was composed of four of the commission's members with each selected by one of the four appointing leaders. The members were as follows:
- Lorrie Lee Stone
- Cal Chipchase
- Clarice Hashimoto
- Dylan Nonaka
Census results
On February 22, 2011, the Census Bureau shipped Hawaii's local census data to the governor and legislative leaders.[7] Detailed data can be found here.[8]
City/County population changes
These tables show the change in population in the five most populous census-designated places and counties in Hawaii from 2000-2010.[9]
|
|
Redistricting
June 2011: Commission to count non-residents
On June 28, 2011, the Hawaii Reapportionment Commission voted 8-1 to include non-resident students and military personnel in redistricting calculations. In addition, the Commission also included sentenced felons in these calculations. The change in policy from previous decades was expected to benefit Oahu and prevent it from losing a senate seat. The sole "no" vote on the Commission came from Anthony Takitani, the only member who was not a resident of Oahu.[10]
July 2011: Dept. Attorney General issues advisory opinion
Attorney General David M. Louie (D) approved an advisory opinion written by Deputy Attorney General Charleen Aina, stating that the Hawaii Supreme Court would be likely to overturn the Commission's decision. She cited a 2005 case in which the court ruled that the term resident population, as found in the Hawaii County Charter, only referred to actual residents for purposes of local redistricting.[11][12]
Aina argued that the Supreme Court was likely to reach a similar decision at the state level. She contended, "The Hawaii Supreme Court would likely hold that to the extent they are identifiable, non-resident college students and non-resident military members and their families cannot properly be included in the reapportionment population."[13]
August 2011: Commission releases draft maps
On August 3, 2011, the Hawaii Reapportionment Commission released its redistricting plans. The commission released two draft Congressional plans and one plan each for the House and Senate. The committee was expected to approve three draft plans on August 5, eliminating one of the proposed Congressional maps. The legislative plans would not pair any state senators but would draw three pairs of state representatives in the same districts. The deadline for preliminary plan approval was August 8 while the deadline for final approval was September 26.[14]
Incumbents paired:
The Hawaii Reapportionment Commission decided on preliminary plans for the state's two Congressional districts. Prior to the decision, the commission was considering two different maps, one that drew Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa outside her district and one that did not. After the committee reached a 4-4 partisan deadlock, Supreme Court-appointed Chair Victoria Marks cast the deciding vote in favor of keeping Hanabusa in her district.
September 2011: Panel to exclude some non-residents
On September 19, 2011, the Hawaii Reapportionment Commission voted to exclude about 16,000 military and non-residents in the state. The decision was a partial reversal of an earlier decision to include non-residents. The original vote was opposed by Big Island officials since the additional population could distort population counts in favor of greater representation for Oahu. However, the decision did not appear to remove enough non-resident population from Oahu to shift a Senate seat to the Big Island.[15][16]
The Commission planned to give final approval to the state’s new maps on September 26 (the deadline for plan completion). The maps up for approval were released to the public on Friday, September 23 and mostly resembled the preliminary plans released in August.[17][18]
September 2011: Panel approves final plans
On September 26, 2011, the Hawaii Reapportionment Commission gave final approval to the state's redistricting plan, partially excluding the state's non-resident population. Because of the inclusion of some non-residents, the Big Island would not gain an additional seat in the Hawaii State Senate. Groups from the Island of Hawaii were expected to challenge the plans in court.[19]
February 2012: New drafts released
After seeing its first plans struck down by the Hawaii Supreme Court, the Hawaii Reapportionment Commission drafted new redistricting maps for the state. The maps, tentatively approved on February 15, 2012, excluded another 100,000 non-residents. The plan paired 10 incumbents in the House and moved a Senate seat from Oahu to the Big Island. The drafts then faced a public comment period. Final plans were to be approved by February 27.[20][21][22]
- Drafts of the new plans can be found here.
March 2012: Commission finalizes plans
On March 8, 2012, the Hawaii Reapportionment Commission approved new legislative districts for the state. The first set of legislative maps approved by the Commission were invalidated by the Hawaii Supreme Court. The Commission released draft maps on February 15. However, two further rounds of revisions were made to those drafts, one reunifying communities on Oahu and another addressing concerns that the plan favored House leadership. Opponents of the plan (who prompted the second round of revisions) were not entirely satisfied and hinted at the possibility of further legal action.[23][24]
Legal issues
October 2011: Big Island Democrats challenge redistricting plan
In October 2011, Sen. Malama Solomon and several other Democrats filed suit, challenging the Hawaii Reapportionment Commission's decision to include most of the state's non-resident population in its redistricting counts. In past redistricting efforts, the state had excluded non-resident military and student populations. Their inclusion in 2011 redistricting calculations boosted the population of Oahu and deprived the Big Island of additional representation. The Commission argued that it excluded all the non-residents that it could given vague data.[25]
- A copy of the petition can be found here.
October 2011: Kona lawyer files second challenge
On October 13, 2011, attorney Mike Matsukawa of Kona filed a lawsuit challenging Hawaii's redistricting plans. Unlike the first lawsuit that centered on the fact that non-residents were included, Matsukawa argued that the Reapportionment Commission did not try in good faith to exclude non-residents. He contended that the commission's eleventh-hour decision to exclude some non-residents was partially responsible for its inability to exclude them all. Matsukawa suggested that the late decision did not allow enough time to determine the actual feasibility of separating out non-residents.[26]
- A copy of the petition can be found here.
November 2011: Governor, Reapportionment Commission file briefs
On November 25, 2011, the Hawaii Reapportionment Commission filed a brief defending the state's redrawn political lines against the two legal challenges.[27] The Commission argued that it excluded all the non-residents that it could given vague data.[28]
Named as a defendant in the first challenge, Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie sided with the plaintiffs and asked the court to order the Commission to start over. The Commission, in turn, asked for the cases to be dismissed and for their attorney fees to be reimbursed by the plaintiffs. The cases were heard by the Hawaii Supreme Court.[29]
January 2012: Redistricting plans overturned
On January 4, 2012, Hawaii's Supreme Court sided with plaintiffs in two lawsuits challenging the state's legislative redistricting plans. The court ruled that non-residents could not be considered in reapportionment. The Hawaii Reapportionment Commission was ordered to redraw the maps. Earlier in the year, the commission decided to consider some of the state's non-resident population in its redistricting calculations.[30]
January 2012: Commission asks Supreme Court to reconsider
On January 13, 2012, the Hawaii Redistricting Commission asked the Hawaii Supreme Court to reconsider its overturned redistricting plans. The commission argued that the representation provided by Deputy Attorney General Russell Suzuki was inadequate. The commission sought private counsel, but the Attorney General refused to either procure or pay for other attorneys. Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) sided with the plaintiffs despite being named a defendant in the case. The AG's office defended Suzuki's legal representation.[31]
April 2012: Federal lawsuit filed
On April 6, 2012, Hawaii Rep. Mark Takai (R) and several non-resident military personnel filed a federal lawsuit over the revised redistricting map. In revising the redistricting map, the Hawaii Reapportionment Board removed 100,000 non-residents from their calculations. These revisions were ordered by the Hawaii Supreme Court following a state lawsuit.[32]
- The petition in the lawsuit can be found here.
April 2012: Federal lawsuit moves forward
A federal challenge of Hawaii's revised redistricting maps got the go-ahead on April 10, 2012. A three-judge federal panel heard the case. The original maps were struck down by state courts for including non-resident military personnel and students in population calculations. The federal suit argued that these individuals should have been included.[33]
May 2012: Elections, lawsuit can proceed
On May 22, 2012, a federal panel refused to overturn Hawaii's redistricting plans. The court's denial of a preliminary injunction allowed both the lawsuit and the state's elections to proceed. The lawsuit argued that non-resident military personnel and students should have been included in the state's redistricting calculations. However, the court held that overturning the plan would not allow sufficient time to implement an alternative.[34]
- The court's order can be found here.
History
Prior to statehood, 1900-59
The Territory of Hawaii was created by the Organic Act of 1900, which provided for a popularly elected legislature who was to be in charge of reapportioning itself by population. However, legislators ignored this, leading to a federal suit in 1955 to require reapportionment.
The Court took jurisdiction of reapportionment, finding the legislators in violation of equal protection and due process. Although this was appealed, it was rendered moot by an amendment to the Organic Act which stated that reapportionment would take place as set out in the proposed state Constitution. Prior to the 1958 elections, Hawaii's legislature was reapportioned for the first time since 1900.
1968 constitutional convention
In the early 1960s, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled the Hawaii Senate apportionment unconstitutional. This was followed by a series of exchanges between the courts and the legislature and led to the 1968 constitutional convention, which had reapportionment as its focus. Delegates would end up offering voters three proposed amendments dealing with apportionment and districting, future reapportionment, and minimum representation for basic island units, all of which were approved.
Among the results of the convention was the use of registered voters as a population base due to the high number of military personnel and tourists, the division of the state into four basic island units, and the establishment of an appointed reapportionment commission. This commission first met in 1973.[35]
2001 redistricting
Deviation from Ideal Districts
| 2000 Population Deviation[36] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office | Percentage | ||||||
| Congressional Districts | 0.32% | ||||||
| State House Districts | 20.1% | ||||||
| State Senate Districts | 38.9% | ||||||
| Under federal law, districts may vary from an Ideal District by up to 10%, though the lowest number achievable is preferred. Ideal Districts are computed through simple division of the number of seats for any office into the population at the time of the Census. | |||||||
There were no lawsuits related to the Hawaii 2000 census redistricting process.
See also
- State Legislative and Congressional Redistricting after the 2010 Census
- State-by-state redistricting procedures
External links
- Hawaii Office of Elections - Redistricting and Reapportionment
- Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism - Census Data
- Hawaii State Data Center Reports and Tables, Hawaii 2010 Census Data
Footnotes
- ↑ Honolulu Star Advertiser, "Hawaii population grows to nearly 1.4 million," December 21, 2010
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Greenfield Daily Reporter, "Reapportionment panel fails to agree on a leader, leaving decision to Hawaii Supreme Court," April 22, 2011
- ↑ Honolulu Civil Beat, "Retired Judge Named Hawaii Redistricting Chair," April 29, 2011
- ↑ Honolulu Civil Beat, "All Together Now: Panel Charts Redistricting Course," May 5, 2011
- ↑ Hawaii Free Press, "Hawaii 2011 Reapportionment Commission includes Jeff Stone's Wife, Hannemann Staffer married to Rail Contractor," March 20, 2011
- ↑ PR Newswire, "Census Bureau Ships Local 2010 Census Data to Hawaii," February 22, 2011
- ↑ Hawaii Reporter,New Analysis on Island Population and Housing Units Now Available on State Website, June 6, 2011
- ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, "Hawaii Custom tables 2010," accessed March 1, 2011
- ↑ Honolulu Civil Beat, "Hawaii Panel Votes to Include Military, Students," June 28, 2011
- ↑ Star Advertise, "Reapportionment vote unlikely to stand, official says," July 20, 2011
- ↑ The Maui News, "Attorney general’s office: No on nonresident troops," July 21, 2011
- ↑ Civil Beat, "Big Island Democrats Challenge Redistricting Plan in Supreme Court," October 11, 2011
- ↑ Honolulu Civil Beat, "Six Hawaii Reps Could Face Incumbents Next Year," August 3, 2011
- ↑ Honolulu Civil Beat, "Hawaii Redistricting Panel Excludes Some Military," September 19, 2011
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "16K residents cut from Hawaii population base," September 20, 2011
- ↑ The Maui News, "Panel could affront legal dispute over redistricting," September 22, 2011
- ↑ Honolulu Star Advertiser, "Reapportionment Commission presents final redistricting maps," September 23, 2011
- ↑ The Maui News, "Panel could affront legal dispute over redistricting," September 22, 2011
- ↑ Hawaii Reporter, "Hawaii Commissioners Rushed Redistricting Plan Leaves Many Residents, Legislators Unhappy," February 16th, 2012
- ↑ Star-Advertiser, "Commission hopes to wrap up election redistricting maps by Feb. 29," February 15, 2012
- ↑ Star-Advertiser, "New election maps would shift Senate seat from Oahu to Big Isle," February 14, 2012
- ↑ Star Advertiser, "Commission gives final approval to new political maps," March 8, 2012
- ↑ Star Advertiser, "Panel produces amended state House district map," March 6, 2012
- ↑ Civil Beat, "Big Island Democrats Challenge Redistricting Plan in Supreme Court," October 11, 2011
- ↑ Civil Beat, "New Plan for Hawaii Legislative Districts Draws Second Lawsuit," October 14, 2011
- ↑ Civil Beat, "Big Island Democrats Challenge Redistricting Plan in Supreme Court," October 11, 2011
- ↑ Civil Beat, "New Plan for Hawaii Legislative Districts Draws Second Lawsuit," October 14, 2011
- ↑ West Hawaii Today, "Commission files brief in reapportionment suit," November 21, 2011
- ↑ Civil Beat, "Hawaii Supreme Court Rejects Redistricting Plan," January 4, 2012
- ↑ Hawaii Reporter, "Hawaii Reapportionment Commission Wants Second Shot with Hawaii Supreme Court," January 17, 2012
- ↑ Civil Beat, "Military Plaintiffs Take Hawaii Redistricting Plan To Federal Court," April 6, 2012
- ↑ Civil Beat, "Hawaii Reapportionment Challenge Will Get Day in Court," April 10, 2012
- ↑ Honolulu Civil Beat, "Elections on Track as Court Rules Against Hawaii Redistricting Suit," May 22, 2012
- ↑ Policy Archive, "Reapportionment Politics: The History of Redistricting in the 50 States," Rose Institute of State and Local Government, January 1981 (pg.83-92)
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, “Redistricting 2000 Population Deviation Table”," accessed February 1, 2011
| ||||||||||
