HONOLULU – A lawsuit is challenging an election for Native Hawaiians, saying it's unconstitutional to restrict voting to those who have Native Hawaiian ancestry.
The lawsuit filed Thursday wants to stop an election planned for November to elect delegates for a convention to determine self-governance for Native Hawaiians.
The Native Hawaiian Roll Commission launched in 2012 after the enactment of a state law recognizing Native Hawaiians as the only indigenous people of the islands. The roll is a list of Native Hawaiians interested in participating in their own government.
The lawsuit says the state shouldn't be involved in a race-based election. The state attorney general's office is reviewing the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs include non-Hawaiians who aren't allowed to participate and Native Hawaiians who say their names appear on the roll without their consent.
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