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Hawaiian election voting extended, pending court decision

ASSOCIATED PRESS Bill Meheula, left, an attorney for Nai Aupuni, spoke to reporters outside U.S. District Court in Honolulu on Oct. 23.

The organization guiding a Native Hawaiian election is extending voting by three weeks after a U.S. Supreme Court justice temporarily blocked vote counting.

Nai Aupuni says voting is extended to Dec. 21 because voters may not have cast ballots over concerns and questions about Justice Anthony Kennedy’s order.

His order on Friday also stopped the certification of any winners pending further direction from him or the entire court.

The election to select delegates who will meet at a convention next year is considered a major step toward Native Hawaiian self-governance. Voting was scheduled to end Monday.

A group of Native Hawaiians and non-Hawaiians is challenging the election. They argue Hawaii residents who don’t have Native Hawaiian ancestry are being excluded from the vote, in violation of their constitutional rights.

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