Hawaii Elections Commission | Ignorance, Arrogance, Incompetence Weaponized in the War on Transparency

The Hawaii Elections Commission meetings have recently addressed several matters related to the 2024 General Election and ongoing election administration. Topics included the Permitted Interaction Group (PIG) report on Hawaii County ballot discrepancies, chain-of-custody procedures, tracking logs from BallotTrax and Hart InterCivic, USPS mail verification, the ERIC voter information-sharing system, voter registration verification processes, Help America Vote Act (HAVA) compliance, accuracy issues with meeting minutes, Sunshine Law appeals, audit requests, and extensive calls for leadership accountability.

Chair Michael Curtis: Partisan Control Instead of Neutral Leadership

Curtis repeatedly shut down testimony about the 19,000+ ballot discrepancy identified in Commissioner Osterkamp’s PIG report on Hawaii County, labeling it “fallacious” and “rage-bait” even though it was in Osterkamp’s Permitted Interraction Group (PIG) Report and agendized. This directly contravenes the Sunshine Law (HRS §92-1).

He repeatedly cuts off certain testifiers mid-sentence as “off-topic”. He claimed in January that selective silencing is his absolute prerogative as chair, and misattributed motions to factionalize debate. These are also blatent violations of Robert’s Rules of Order which requires chair neutrality. He also blocked a motion to remove Nago by invoking vague sunshine law concerns, delaying it until the following meeting on January 7th. When the January 7th convened, it was nowhere to be found on the agenda anyway. The motion was finally heard after Nago’s report, but it did not pass, despite overwhelming public outcry against his opaque and back-to-back failures.

Chief Election Officer Scott Nago: Basic Incompetence in Core Duties

Nago’s reports avoid addressing PIG findings, voter data reconciliation, and litigation. He admitted the ERIC interstate voter-sharing system has unknown error rates and is withheld from the Department of Justice as “private”, even from government officials.

He wrongly described the definition of chain of custody as the physical envelopes being placed in a box and sealed for 22 months, and the definition of inventory as how many SVRS entries there are. This reveals that the Chief Elections Officer holds a fundamental misunderstanding of his legal requirements and the basic mechanisms of his professional field. Nago also confirmed Hawaii County has no physical transfer logs or verification, yet he still only offers electronic solutions in the future. Translation: “Trust us brah”. He, like Chair Curtis, dismissed USPS data showing 19,000 excess ballots as irrelevant. He also outright admitted that voter registration relies almost entirely on self-attestation with minimal checks.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit  against Scott Nago in his official capacity for denying access to the full statewide voter registration list in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1960, NVRA, and HAVA. Multiple commission motions demanding compliance (including chain-of-custody records) and even for his removal failed, despite massive public support.

Conflicts of Interest & Systemic Dysfunction

Commissioner Osterkamp was in opposition to allowing media and news outlets at audits, claiming it would fuel “conspiracy theories.” The State Auditor rejected the Commission’s request for an audit it, forcing another delay for county-level requests.

The Attorney General’s office invoked attorney-client privilege to close discussion of lawsuits against Nago and Curtis. The AG simultaneously represents both the accused and the commissioners on OIP requests, an open and direct conflict of interest. He also sought to personally manage all OIP complaints against the Commission, including those filed by Commissioner Cushnie. Sunshine law appeals revealed repeated testimony denials, minute omissions, and AG dismissals of obvious violations, despite the law’s explicit mandates for transparency. Confusion persisted, with one commissioner even asked aloud, “What and where are the commission rules?”, a shocking admission of ignorance from someone who has served on the board for months.

New Commissioner Dalton improperly voted to approve prior minutes she never attended. Hand-count motions for 2024 envelopes passed narrowly amid opposition. Testimony consistently demands Nago’s and Curtis’s removal, yet they remain month after month. The commission unanimously refused to forward findings to the Governor due to the commissioner’s shared institutional mistrust.

Despite being framed as “partisan rage-bait” by the accused, this is not a left-right issue. Voices from Democrats, Republicans, independents, and Libertarians express the same alarm. Coverage in Civil Beat and Aloha State Daily documents resignations, repeated audit calls, and growing division over mail-in voting. 100+ testifiers routinely sit through 7 hour long meetings in the middle of the workweek to demand change. 

The DoJ Lawsuit

On December 22, 2025, the Libertarian Party of Hawaii unanimously passed a “Resolution in Support of the U.S. Department of Justice Lawsuit Against the Hawaii Office of Elections and Chief Elections Officer Scott Nago”. Our resolution endorses the DOJ action, demands full compliance with federal election laws, supports continued federal oversight of Hawaii’s noncompliance, and affirms that transparency and accountability strengthen—not threaten—election integrity. Full text available in our December 2025 Membership Newsletter.

The Libertarian Party of Hawaii calls for:

• Full support for the U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit seeking to enforce federal election law requirements against the Hawaiʻi Office of Elections and Chief Elections Officer Scott Nago.

• Full compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1960, the National Voter Registration Act, and the Help America Vote Act, including the prompt and transparent disclosure of voter registration records as required by law.

• Continued exercise of federal jurisdiction by authorities to address systemic noncompliance with election transparency and record-access requirements in the State of Hawaiʻi.

• Affirmation that election integrity is strengthened by lawful oversight, public accountability, and adherence to constitutional and statutory obligations.

  
  

Your Call to Action

Contact your state legislators today. Attend and testify at Elections Commission meetings to apply direct public pressure.

Meetings are held at the Office of Elections (802 Lehua Avenue, Pearl City) or virtually (details on each agenda). Testimony is generally limited to 2-3 minutes on agenda items and can be given remotely or in person. All agendas, minutes, notices, and archives are posted here: https://elections.hawaii.gov/about-us/boards-and-commissions/elections-commission/ Sign up for email notifications on that page so you receive agendas and regular meeting notices automatically.