RNC Sues Hawaii for Access to Voter Roll, List Maintenance Records 

The Republican National Committee (RNC) filed suit Tuesday accusing Hawaii’s Office of Elections and its chief election officer, Scott Nago, of unlawfully refusing to release public records about how the state maintains its voter registration lists.

It’s the latest move in a broader RNC campaign to demand voter data from Democratic-leaning states — in an effort to undermine confidence in elections without evidence of widespread fraud.

The lawsuit alleges violations of Hawaii’s open-records law, the Uniform Information Practices Act (UIPA), as well as federal disclosure requirements under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).

“The RNC submitted a public records request pursuant to Hawaii’s Uniform Information Practices Act to Mr. Nago and the Office seeking sixteen categories of information related to the State of Hawaii’s programs and practices pertaining to the maintenance of accurate voter rolls as required by the National Voter Registration Act,” the complaint states. “Despite the Office’s clear obligation to provide the RNC with various records related to its voter rolls, the Office refused to tell the RNC whether it possessed records responsive to the RNC’s requests.”

RNC Chairman Joe Gruters said the party is suing to force compliance.

 “Hawaii citizens deserve to have confidence that their state is properly maintaining voter rolls,” Gruters said in a press release. “Hawaii has a legal obligation to provide this information and is blatantly breaking their own law. Hawaii citizens deserve to know if their election officials are cleaning their voter rolls as required by law, which is why the RNC is suing.”

The RNC says it is entitled to the records under both state and federal law, citing the NVRA’s requirement that states make voter list maintenance documents available for public inspection. 

The lawsuit follows similar filings by the RNC in New Jersey, Nevada and other states, part of what it calls its “largest ever nationwide records requests” for voter roll information.

Voting rights advocates have long warned that these lawsuits are partisan attempts to question the accuracy of voter rolls and cast doubt on lawful voters. The RNC’s campaign arrives amid continued efforts by Republican officials to promote unsubstantiated claims of election irregularities and to challenge established election administration practices in Democratic-led states.

In Hawaii, the RNC is asking the court to compel the Office of Elections to release the requested materials, declare the state in violation of open-records law and award attorneys’ fees and costs.

If successful, the lawsuit would force Hawaii — a state long regarded for its secure, mail-based elections and high voter access — to divert public resources toward defending against claims rooted in partisan distrust.