Hawaii Revised Statutes

Haw. Rev. Stat. § 831-2 (2026)

Rights lost

✓ current as of July 2026

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§831-2 Rights lost. (a) A person sentenced for a felony, from the time of the person's sentence until the person's final discharge, may not:

(1) Vote in an election, but if the defendant is placed on probation or the defendant is paroled after commitment to imprisonment, the defendant may vote during the period of the probation or parole; or

(2) Become a candidate for or hold public office.

(b) A public office held at the time of conviction is forfeited as of the date of the conviction, if the conviction is in this State, or, if the conviction is in another state or in a federal court, as of the date a certification of the conviction from the trial court is filed in the office of the lieutenant governor who shall receive and file it as a public document. An appeal or other proceeding taken to set aside or otherwise nullify the conviction or sentence does not affect the application of this section.

For purposes of this section:

"Public office" means an office held by an elected official, department heads, officers, and members of any board, commission, or other state agency whose appointments are made by the governor, chief justice, office of Hawaiian affairs, or the judicial selection commission, or are required by law to be confirmed by the senate.

"Time of conviction" means the day upon which the person was found guilty of the charges by the trier of fact or determined to be guilty by the court.

(c) Subsections (a) and (b) of this section and any other laws to the contrary notwithstanding, any person convicted of any act, attempt, or conspiracy to overthrow the state or the federal government by force or violence shall not hold any public office or employment. [L 1969, c 250, pt of §1; HRS §716-2; ren L 1972, c 9, pt of §1; am L 1979, c 53, §2; gen ch 1985; am L 2002, c 171, §2; am L 2003, c 150, §3; am L 2006, c 253, §3]

Attorney General Opinions

OHA trustees are holders of "public office". Att. Gen. Op. 84-3.

Case Notes

Cited: 49 F. Supp. 3d 727 (2014).

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 4 cases, 2000–2014 · leading case: Fisher v. Kealoha, 49 F. Supp. 3d 727 (D. Haw. 2014).

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Fisher v. Kealoha, 49 F. Supp. 3d 727 (D. Haw. 2014). · cites it 3× “§ 831-2 (entitled “Rights “[L]ost””) provides that “[a] person sentenced for a felony, from the time of the person’s sentence until the person’s final discharge, may not: (1) Vote in an election .”

Blair v. Harris, 45 P.3d 798 (Haw. 2002). · cites it 2× “party candidate that the candidate is a member of the party; (8) A sworn certification by self-subscribing oath, where applicable, by the candidate that the candidate has complied with the provisions of article II, section 7, of the Constitution of the State of Hawai`i; (9) A…”

State v. Pali., 300 P.3d 1022 (Haw. 2013). · cites it 2× “ore, having completed the period of probation on December 28, 2010, [Petitioner] shall be relieved of any obligations imposed by the order of the court and shall have satisfied the disposition of the court except as to any action to collect unpaid fines, restitution, attorney’s…”

Off. of Hawaiian Affairs v. Cayetano, 6 P.3d 799 (Haw. 2000). · cites it 4× “In comparison, HRS § 831-2 (1993) provides that a person who is sentenced for a felony may not hold public office from the time of the person's sentence until the person's final discharge, and "[a] public office held at the time of sentence is forfeited as of the date of the…”

— Haw. Rev. Stat. § 831-2(a) — 1 case

Fisher v. Kealoha, 49 F. Supp. 3d 727 (D. Haw. 2014). “§ 831-2 (entitled “Rights “[L]ost””) provides that “[a] person sentenced for a felony, from the time of the person’s sentence until the person’s final discharge, may not: (1) Vote in an election .”

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