Case, Akaka have no independent option

Hawaii does not allow candidates to switch affiliations

Hawaii candidates like U.S. Rep. Ed Case or U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka cannot run as independents in the general election if they lose their primary, as is being done by Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman.

"That's not an option under Hawaii law," Case, who is challenging Akaka in the Democratic Senate primary, said Wednesday. "One would have had to have made that selection before the filing deadline. Connecticut has a very different situation."

The state's elections office confirmed that Hawaii requires candidates to declare their party affiliation before the July 25 filing deadline.

If a candidate files as a member of a political party, he may not choose later to switch to an independent, said Rex Quidilla, the state's voting services coordinator. Nonpartisan candidates must declare their independence at the filing deadline.

"The process doesn't open up a vacancy to run again," Quidilla said. "The Lieberman case wouldn't apply to Hawaii."

In Connecticut, Lieberman lost the Democratic primary to anti-war candidate Ned Lamont, but that state's laws allowed him to file for the November general election ballot as an independent.