Residents of Maui waited and excruciating 2 hours for the results of todays make-up election consisting of 1,496 mailed or early walk-in, 1,508 in-person Friday, 12 absentee ballots that were dropped off in-person Friday, and 800 uncounted ballots from Maui.
Statewide Totals (including Puna and Maui) as of 8PM HST Aug 15:
Schatz: 115,397
Hanabusa: 113,628
Brian Schatz wins by 1769 votes
No paper ballots were available today for the 2 precincts voting in today's make-up election.
Given the snafu on the 800 ballots which were overlooked or not counted on Maui, confidence in the Elections Office is at an all time low.
9:06 AM PT: Hanabusa refuses to concede. Is considering challenging results. Blames loss on "outsiders."
9:37 AM PT: Final numbers:
Schatz 115,401 48.5%
Hanabusa 113,632 47.8%
2:58 PM PT: Schatz gave an ebullient speech. Best part: "My parents taught me how to define success: How much good you can do for others"