Plan to reapportion electoral districts up for review

A proposed plan to draw up congressional and legislative district lines in Hawaii for the next 10 years is up for review, with public hearings scheduled for Lanai, Molokai and Maui in December.

The State Reapportionment Commission will be holding a series of virtual public hearings for each island. Meetings will be held at 2 p.m. Dec. 3 for Lanai, 6 p.m. Dec. 3 for Molokai, 6 p.m. Dec. 6 for the Lahaina area and 6 p.m. Dec. 7 for the Kahului area.

The commission is encouraging people to use the Hawaii Redistricting Online application to draw and submit their own plans for review. Within the application, users must meet the criteria to ensure compact, contiguous districts that are approximately equal in population.

“Our commission wants to hear and understand as much public input as possible so we can create and adopt the best electoral districting plan for the state,” said Dr. Mark Mugiishi, chairperson of the 2022 Reapportionment

Commission. “We are hoping for and encouraging good turnout and dialogue at these public hearings.”

Following the public hearings, the commission will revise the plan and adopt a final version by the end of February. The final plan will be implemented for the 2022 elections.

The hearings will be held via Zoom. To access links to the meeting, learn how to submit testimony or view the proposed plans, visit elections.hawaii .gov and click “Reapportionment.” Or, call (808) 4538683 for more information.

Proposed plans are also available in Maui County at:

≤ Maui County Clerk’s Office, 200 S. High St., Wailuku.

≤ Hana Public and School Library, 4111 Hana Highway, Hana.

≤ Lahaina Public Library, 680 Wharf St., Lahaina.

≤ Molokai Public Library, 15 Ala Malama Ave., Kaunakakai.

≤ Lanai Public and School Library, 555 Fraser Ave., Lanai City.