KOHO PONO – MANA TO THE KANAKA MAOLI
KOHO PONO means to Elect or Choose Wisely by making an informed decision when voting for an elected official to represent your voice. It’s important that Hawaiian voters know where candidates stand on key issues impacting our community, which is reflected in this questionnaire.
KOHO PONO is an initiative of the Ka Lāhui Hawai’i Kōmike Kālaiʻāina
Ka Lāhui Hawai’i Kōmike Kālaiʻāina asked questions this year to candidates running for office on issues that important to us as Kanaka Maoli. All of the questions were YES and NO but they were also given an opportunity to explain their answer. We had the lowest questionnaire response this year. A no response is marked at NR.
CLICK HERE to download the KOHO PONO 2022 REPORT CARD (PDF VERSION).
This year’s Koho Pono Ad was Published in Ka Wai Ola Newspaper in August 2022. There was one error on the that ad Esera Vegas was a “NR” not a “No”. Below is the corrected version.
2022 Candidate Questions
1. Do you support self-determination for/by the indigenous peoples of Hawai’i?
2. Do you support holding the ceded lands in trust under the Department of Land and Natural Resources in their entirety until they can be transferred over to a self-determined Hawaiian Nation?
3. Do you support the building of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea?
4. Do you support providing legal protections and property tax exemptions for kuleana landowners?
5. Would you vote yes to repeal House Bill 499 (Act 236), which authorizes the board of land and natural resources to extend leases of public lands?
6. Do you support providing sufficient sums to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands?
*To avoid any errors we are making available all responses with as little formatting as possible in EXCEL.
**Some candidates submitted their responses more than once – if that was the case we printed the last submitted response.
Important Elections Information
Hawai’i votes by mail and all voters will automatically receive their ballot in the mail 18 days prior to each election. There numerous drop boxes on all major islands except for Ni’ihau and Kaho’olawe.
Voter service centers provide accessible in-person voting and same day voter registration. Voter service centers open ten business days prior to the election and on Election Day. There are four Service Centers on Oʻahu, two on Maui and Hawaiʻi Island and one on Molokai, Lāna’i and Kaua’i.
Primary Election: Saturday, August 13, 2022
Voters receive their ballots in the mail for the Primary Election by July 26, 2022
General Election: November 8, 2022 Voters receive their ballots in the mail for the General Election by October 21, 2022
To can register to vote at Service Centers on the same day you go in person to vote if you choose.
For more information go to the State of Hawaiʻi Office of Elections website: https://elections.hawaii.gov/