Every ten years, Hawaii redraws its federal, state, and local legislative district maps. This process is meant to ensure that as populations grow and change, every Hawaii voter can have equal representation and equal voice in government.

We’re fighting for fair, transparent, and equitable redistricting at every level — advocating for legislation like the Freedom to Vote Act to help end partisan gerrymandering, bringing Hawaii residents to testify at public hearings, and telling our mapmakers the story of communities across Hawaii.

 

Hawaii State Legislative and Senate Districts

In Hawaii, both congressional and state legislative redistricting is controlled by a nine-member political commission. The assembly and senate’s majority and minority leaders each appoint 2 members, and those 8 members will pick the final member. If they cannot agree on a final member, the Supreme Court appoints the final member.

When partisan politicians control the mapmaking process, we’re especially vulnerable to unfair maps — which is why it’s so important we push our lawmakers to be transparent and consider public testimony every step of the way.

Mapmakers must prioritize:

  • Districts must comply with the provisions of the US Constitution and Voting Rights Act and keep districts reasonably equal in population.
  • Keeping communities of interest and political subdivisions whole.
  • Compactness
  • Maximizing the number of politically competitive districts

Districts may not be drawn:

  • To protect one or more incumbents, declared candidates, or political parties.
  • With intent or effect of denial/abridgement of voting rights or vote dilution because of race or membership in a language minority group.

Why Redistricting Matters for Hawaii

When done fairly, redistricting is a chance for political power to be equitably distributed across different communities, making sure everyone has a seat at the table.

Unfortunately, redistricting has historically been conducted behind closed doors with little to no public input, meaning they don’t have an accurate picture of what our communities look like.

Even worse, when‌ ‌politicians‌ ‌have‌ ‌the‌ ‌power‌ ‌to‌ ‌draw‌ ‌electoral‌ ‌maps,‌ ‌they‌ ‌manipulate‌ ‌district‌ ‌lines‌ ‌to‌ ‌divide‌ or‌ ‌pack‌ ‌together‌ ‌certain‌ ‌populations,‌ ‌keeping‌ ‌themselves‌ ‌and‌ ‌their‌ ‌party‌ ‌in‌ ‌power.‌‌ ‌It’s‌ ‌called‌ ‌gerrymandering‌ ‌–‌ ‌and‌ ‌it’s‌ ‌a‌ ‌major‌ ‌threat‌ ‌to‌ ‌our‌ ‌democracy.

Key Dates For Hawaii 2021 Redistricting

Hearings are held across Hawaii to take public comment. When the legislature receives the federal Census data, they use that and public input to create draft maps. Once these draft maps are released, they hold hearings to get public feedback and revise the maps, before sending a finalized version to the Governor’s desk.

Public hearings have officially begun in Hawaii! Join us at an upcoming hearing in your area:

  • City and County of Honolulu Commission: 
    • Upcoming Meetings:
      • Tuesday, September 28, 2021 at 6:00 p.m.
      • Tuesday, October 26, 2021 at 5:00 p.m.
    • Public Hearings
      • October 7, 2021 at 6:00 p.m.
      • October 11, 2021 at 6:00 p.m.

 

Upcoming Events

 

 

Hawaii Redistricting Resources

Use these resources to learn more about how you can get involved in fighting for fair districts and stopping gerrymandering in Hawaii.