UPDATED Saturday 3/3/12 9 a.m.

New political boundaries for Hawaii’s legislative districts are still in limbo. The state Reapportionment Commission on Friday again delayed finalizing a revised plan.

Meanwhile, the primary election is 162 days away, and House and Senate candidates have not been able to start the process of running for office.

UPDATE

The commission earlier this week was expected to approve maps that had gone out for public hearings on the Big Island and Oahu. Those new legislative district boundaries would pit two incumbent Oahu state senators and six sets of incumbent Oahu House members against one another for re-election.¹

But that meeting on Wednesday was recessed until Friday so the commission’s technical committee — the four-member team that does the drawing behind closed doors — could review a proposed Oahu House plan put forward by Reps. Sylvia Luke and Chris Lee.

The lawmakers are among a dissident faction of Democrats who have long opposed House Speaker Calvin Say. Dissidents have accused the commission of gerrymandering because, they contend, the latest maps unfairly impact them.

Commissioner Calvert Chipchase, a member of the technical committee, said the Luke-Lee alternative is not a “viable alternative,” and the technical committee “ultimately could not recommend them.”

Chipchase said those maps would divide and combine distinct communities, including Kahala, Moiliili and Sunset Beach, and said the committee also was concerned the plan had not gone out for public comment.

Lee, who represents Lanikai-Waimanalo, called the criticism ironic.

“The criticisms … were somewhat ironic because that map was based almost entirely upon the maps that were already approved by the commission and vetted by the public for a number of months over the last summer,” he told Civil Beat. “Clearly they can just tweak the lines of the existing map that’s already had all of that approval, and all of that vetting, and all that public input, and come up with a solution that would be non-contentious — not just politically, but to the communities involved.”

Chipchase on Friday asked the commission for more time to re-review the technical committee’s existing plans presented at its Feb. 27 meeting. Those lines had been revised following community meetings to address public concerns over four Oahu communities, including Newtown in Pearl City, Oceanpointe in Ewa, and Makakilo in West Oahu.

“The committee wanted to be certain that there were no changes possible to that map that might improve it or might address some of those concerns that were raised at our last meeting,” he told the commission. “There may be changes that the technical committee is able to make, we’re not certain at this point, we simply have not had an adequate amount of time.”

The commission voted to recess Friday’s meeting until Tuesday to give the technical committee additional time. The commission kept a previously scheduled March 8 public meeting in the event that the committee presents new plans at Tuesday’s meeting.

At least two commissioners — Harold Masumoto and Anthony Takitani — felt the existing plan should be approved so as not to waste more time.

“We’re screwing up an election,” Takitani said.

Chiefs Elections Officer Scott Nago said he was not sure what impact the drawn-out meetings would have on the Aug. 11 primary at this point. He previously said the Elections Office needed a finalized plan by Feb. 29 to complete precinting and determining polling places for the state’s more than 600,000 registered voters.

Follow the 2012 elections with our elections guide including a detailed elections calendar.