HSTA cites reasons for re-vote in statewide election
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A decision by the Hawaii State Teachers Association to throw out the results of a statewide election raised some eyebrows, but the union clarified on Monday that ballot distribution issues were to blame.
HSTA president Wil Okabe wrote in an email that many teachers as well as board members reported not receiving ballots, either email or mailed ballots. In addition, the email said, issues were raised about possible campaign violations in the distribution of campaign materials at schools and HSTA events as well as regarding candidates asking faculty to place campaign materials in areas of the school that are prohibited by law.
Okabe added the company responsible for distributing and counting the votes made a number of errors, including releasing the email ballot count before the actual count date and not providing a visual count of ballots for observers and candidates as required.
According to the email, 21 out of 29 of the board members – comprised of public school teachers who all serve as elected volunteers – voted for a re-vote. However, there was no specific information on when the re-vote would take place.
The state elections would have determined positions such as president, vice president, secretary-treasurer, NEA director and others. Some teachers believed the re-vote was due to the union not being satisfied with the original outcome.
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