Maps marking new political districts for the 2012 election should be ready by Feb. 23, putting the state Office of Elections on a short timetable for administrative matters such as determining precincts and polling places in time for the Aug. 11 primary election.

State Chief Election Officer Scott Nago, supported by county clerks from each of the state’s four counties, told the Reapportionment Commission at a meeting Monday that any delay beyond Feb. 29 could put at risk the office’s ability to "securely and properly implement the elections."

"We’re in uncharted territory," Nago said. "This is the first time we’ve ever been in an election year where we didn’t have (district) lines; candidates can’t file come Feb. 1."

Receiving the new plans by Feb. 29 gives the best opportunity to conduct the election on a compressed schedule, he said.

Wednesday is when candidates can begin filing for state political offices, but without an approved plan, the Elections Office cannot begin processing applications for most of them. People may file nomination papers for county and federal office.

At the meeting, the commission set a schedule to have new maps proposed by Feb. 15 in order to take them to public hearings in the affected counties on Oahu and Hawaii island on Feb. 21 and 22. The committee would approve the new plan by Feb. 23.

"You have to be realistic with what the elections office has to do with establishing the precincts and getting everything ready for the upcoming elections," commission Chairwoman Victoria Marks said. "We’re very mindful of that, and we’re trying to do everything we can so that our work is completed so that they have adequate time to do what they need to do."

The state Reapportionment Commission, assigned with redrawing political boundaries each decade to reflect population shifts revealed by the census, has had to redo boundary maps approved last year after the state Supreme Court invalidated those plans.

The court ruled the commission included too many nonpermanent residents — military members and their dependents, along with out-of-state students — in the base population used for drawing up its maps.

Hawaii County plaintiffs argued that a miscount unfairly maintained a greater population base on Oahu and negated population growth on Hawaii island that should result in at least an additional Senate seat. Oahu would lose a seat.

Since the ruling, the commission has received more refined data from the military and the state’s universities, allowing consultants to more accurately determine where nonpermanent residents live and create a more accurate picture of that population.

The number of people to be excluded is expected to be between 78,000 and 120,000. A Senate seat would for sure shift from Oahu to Hawaii County. If the number of nonresidents excluded is closer to 120,000, a House seat could also shift to Hawaii island.

Meanwhile, the Office of Elections said the filing period for candidates will end as scheduled June 5, meaning a shortened filing period.

Nago said that in addition to establishing precincts and polling places, the commission also must assign more than 600,000 registered voters to the newly established precincts.

"The primary concern is one of voter notification. That is, the mailing of postcards to inform voters where to vote," Nago and the county clerks said in written testimony. "This occurs only after the voter registration district reassignment process is completed."

Correction: The filing period for political candidates is scheduled to end June 5. An earlier version of this sttory online and in Tuesday’s editions listed it as July 14, which is the voter registration deadline.