Hawaii measure that narrowly succeeds might remove Trump from the ballot

A bill in the Hawaii state legislature, aimed at potentially preventing former President Donald Trump from appearing on the 2024 presidential ballot, narrowly passed a procedural vote on Tuesday.

Reported by Hawaii NewsNow, the Hawaii State Senate Judiciary Committee approved Senate Bill 2392 with a slim margin, advancing it to the full floor. If enacted, the bill would entrust the chief elections officer with the authority to determine Trump's eligibility for the ballot.

Supporters of the bill argue that Trump's involvement in the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, constitutes an insurrection, justifying his disqualification from seeking or securing the presidency.

This initiative aligns with similar endeavors in several other states to block Trump, the current leading Republican candidate, from participating in the upcoming election.

Despite overcoming the initial procedural obstacle, the bill has faced more vocal opposition than support. Jamie Detwiler, a resident who testified before the vote, criticized the bill as "tyrannical," emphasizing that Trump hasn't been convicted or charged with insurrection. Detwiler's sentiments were echoed by over 300 complaints or negative testimonies received by Hawaii NewsNow, outnumbering the approximately 20 supportive testimonies.

Senator Karl Rhoads, a Democrat, introduced the legislation due to Hawaii lacking a formal process to disqualify candidates from the ballot. Senate Bill 2392, approved by a narrow 3-2 vote in the committee, aims to address this gap by establishing such a mechanism.

The bill outlines that election ballots issued by the chief election officer or county clerk should exclude any candidate disqualified by constitutional or statutory provisions. It also delineates a procedure for challenging a candidate's inclusion or exclusion from the ballot and stipulates that electors for presidential and vice-presidential candidates cannot be individuals disqualified by constitutional or statutory provisions. Furthermore, it prohibits electors from voting for any presidential or vice-presidential nominee disqualified under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.