New York Times

Whole Court Freezes Hawaii Vote Pending Court of Appeals Review

December 3, 2015

by Adam Liptak

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered officials in Hawaii not to count ballots or name the winners in an election there until a federal appeals court rules on whether it was constitutional to limit voting to people of native Hawaiian ancestry. The Supreme Court’s order, over the objections of its four more liberal members, was a response to an emergency application from Hawaii residents who said the election violated the 15th Amendment, which bars race discrimination in voting. The election, which was to end on Monday, was extended for three weeks after Justice Anthony M. Kennedy issued an interim order on Friday to stop the vote count. The election is for delegates to a convention that would prepare a document on self-governance by Native Hawaiians.