FACTSHEET

NONPARTISAN CANDIDATES

QUALIFICATION FOR THE GENERAL ELECTION

This factsheet does not apply to candidates for nonpartisan offices (i.e. all county elections and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs).

Individuals not affiliated with any qualified political party in Hawaii may run as nonpartisan candidates in partisan elections (i.e. State Representative, State Senator, Governor, U.S. Representative, and U.S. Senator). Nonpartisan candidates must file nomination papers and pay a filing fee to qualify for the office and will appear on a separate nonpartisan ballot in the Primary Election.

According to the Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) §12-41(b), to qualify for the General Election nonpartisan candidates must meet one of the following qualifications:

Method 1: receive at least ten percent (10%) of the total votes cast for the office for which the person is a candidate at the Primary Election; OR

Method 2: receive a vote equal to the lowest vote received by the partisan candidate who was nominated in the Primary Election for the office.

NOTE: If more nonpartisan candidates qualify to run in the General Election than there are offices (seats) available, there shall be certified as candidates those receiving the highest number of votes, but not more candidates than there are offices (seats) to be elected. HRS §12-41(b).

See page 2 and 3 for example of calculations.

SAMPLE ELECTION CONTEST: Senatorial District A

Candidates	# of Votes Received	Qualify for General	Reason
Democrat A	300	No	Lost Democratic Primary
Democrat B	725	Yes	Won Democratic Primary
Republican	500	Yes	Won Republican Primary
Green	50	Yes	Won Green Primary
Libertarian	225	Yes	Won Libertarian Primary
Nonpartisan A	50	No	Qualified under Method 2 but lost Primary to Nonpartisan Candidate B
Nonpartisan B	75	Yes	Qualified under Method 2 and won Nonpartisan Primary
Total Votes:	1,925

EXPLANATION:

Method 1:

Requirement: The nonpartisan candidate must receive at least ten percent (10%) of the total number of votes cast for the office.

Calculation: 1,925 votes times 10% = 192.5 or 193 votes required.

Result: Neither nonpartisan candidate qualifies under this method.

Method 2:

Requirement: The nonpartisan candidate must receive a vote equal to or greater than the lowest vote received by the partisan candidate who was nominated in the Primary Election for the office.

Calculation: The Green Party candidate received the least number of votes of all partisan candidates who won their primaries and were nominated for the General Election. Therefore, the nonpartisan candidate must match or exceed the number of votes received by the Green Party candidate to qualify for the General Election.

Green Candidate: 50 votes

Nonpartisan Candidate A: 50 votes

Nonpartisan Candidate B: 75 votes

Result: Although both nonpartisan candidates matched the number of votes received by the Green Party candidate, only nonpartisan candidate B qualifies under this method.

Because there is only one seat available for this Senatorial race, the nonpartisan candidate receiving the highest number of votes qualifies to advance to the General Election.

Thus, only nonpartisan candidate B will be placed on the General Election ballot.

This Factsheet is intended for informational purposes only and should not be used as an authority on the Hawaii election law and deadlines. Requirements and/or deadlines may change pending changes in legislation. Consult the Hawaii Revised Statutes and other sources for more detailed and accurate requirements.

Office of Elections
802 Lehua Avenue
Pearl City, Hawaii 96782
Phone: 808-453-VOTE(8683)
Neighbor Island Toll Free: 1-800-442-VOTE(8683)

TTY: 808-453-6150

Internet: www.hawaii.gov/elections

Office of Elections – FSBO119D

Rev. 04/15/13