The Hawaii Elections Commission voted Dec. 3 to ask State Auditor Kondo to conduct an audit of the 2024 general election and agreed the auditor should start with Hawai‘i (the “Big Island”) before expanding statewide. The commission also formed a permitted interaction group (PIG) charged with working with county clerks on chain‑of‑custody procedures and daily reporting.

The full commission approved the request to the auditor after debate about timing and scope. Commissioner Lindsay moved the audit request; commissioners amended the motion to begin with the Big Island to expedite a targeted review and the amended motion passed on roll call. Commissioners said they will invite the state auditor to the next meeting to discuss options and timing.

The decisions came amid hours of public testimony on the PIG reports. Supporters of keeping automatic vote‑by‑mail urged the commission not to remove access that voters with disabilities and rural residents rely on. Other testifiers, including election observers and several county residents, urged a return to one‑day in‑person paper voting and pressed for investigations after PIG reports found reconciliation issues in multiple counties. Representative Garner Shimizu read findings from a PIG report that raised unexplained discrepancies on Kauai and asked the commission to pursue answers.

Commissioners also voted to form a PIG to work with county clerks on chain‑of‑custody and daily reports, including establishing consistent paper logs and coordination with the U.S. Postal Service. The PIG’s membership was discussed; the chair invited Commissioners Apana, Sebas and Adrian to serve, and the group may consult volunteers and witnesses who testified. The PIG’s stated remit includes assessing when chain of custody begins, ensuring granular, shareable receipts and reconciliation steps at each stage of handling ballots.

Other steps approved by the commission during the meeting included a motion to request detailed USPS delivery records for ballots delivered to the County of Hawai‘i during the 2024 general election and a separate request directing the chief elections officer to produce BallotTracks logs from Hart Intercivic for all counties for the 2024 election. Commissioners discussed limits on who may request USPS account records (county business‑reply accounts generally controlled by the county clerk) and noted an auditor or county clerk may have to pull certain files.

The meeting reflected deep public concern and division. Dozens of residents urged the commission to act; testimony emphasized two persistent themes: the need to ensure access for voters who rely on mail ballots, and the need for verifiable chain‑of‑custody records so the public can trust counts. The commission’s formal actions create multiple concurrent avenues for further review — an audit request to the State Auditor, PIG work with county clerks, and information requests to elections staff and vendors.

Next steps: the commission said it will invite the State Auditor to the next meeting to discuss timing and scope, the PIG will begin outreach to county clerks and possible outside witnesses, and staff were directed to seek BallotTracks logs and ask the chief elections officer for chain‑of‑custody and reconciliation records needed to validate the 2024 results.

The commission met by video and phone and recorded roll calls and votes; the meeting also included procedural items such as approval of Oct. 29, 2025 minutes, and multiple OIP (Office of Information Practices) letters were discussed. The audit request and the PIG formation were among the primary formal outcomes of the session.