Two in-laws of newly elected state Rep. Sue Lee Loy claim she doesn’t live in the Hilo district she represents and want House leadership to punish her — or even remove her from office.

Lee Loy said she moved into the Waiākea Uka neighborhood in April, before she filed papers in May to run for House District 2. A petition filed with House Speaker Nadine Nakamura by Bridgit Bales and Maureen Rawlins, sisters-in-law of Lee Loy, and three other Big Island voters on Jan. 10 alleges she continues to live in Panaʻewa, outside the district.

In an accompanying declaration, Bales said she lives next door to the home Lee Loy shares with her husband Ian Lee Loy in Panaʻewa. Bales, Ian’s sister, said she has proof: extensive security video footage of Sue Lee Loy at the home.

“Essentially what we’re saying is she’s not qualified to be a representative because she’s not living in the correct district,” said Diego Rivera, a lawyer representing Bales and the others. “Not only is she not living in the correct district, but she’s also fibbing about that fact.”

Lee Loy and her husband are divorcing, according to court records. She said in an interview that she and her husband alternate staying at the Panaʻewa house — usually for a week at a time — to care for their adult son, who is disabled.

She acknowledged that she does spend more of her time in Panaʻewa than in her district rental, but she said the Waiākea Uka unit is her legal residence.

“We’re just trying to be good parents for a child with special needs,” she said.

Attempts to reach her husband for this story were unsuccessful.

Lee Loy, 54, served eight years on the Hawai’i County Council until term limits barred her from running for reelection last year. She said she she moved to District 2 in April and filed to run for that seat after learning that former state Rep. Richard Onishi would not run for reelection. District 2 covers much of urban Hilo, including the Waiākea neighborhoods that Lee Loy represented on the council.

Candidates must be residents and registered to vote in the district for which they run. State law on the residency requirements to register to vote is fairly general; it says someone’s legal residence is the place where they live and intend to return when they’re absent.

The petition filed by her in-laws and the three other voters alleges Lee Loy carried out a “blatant fraud” so she could run for a seat that lacked an incumbent. Among the evidence it cites is a statement by Bales that claims Sue Lee Loy answered the door at the Panaʻewa house in September and October and on Jan. 4, when police responded to complaints each time that Lee Loy’s dog was running loose on Bales’ property.

The group filed a challenge to Lee Loy’s voter registration at her new address on June 10 with the Hawai’i County Clerk and the state Office of Elections. Lee Loy in turn provided a copy of her lease for the property in Waiākea Uka along with a letter from the real estate broker who rented her the house in response, and both complaints were denied.

Bales and the others appealed to the Hawai’i Island Board of Registration on June 24, again disputing Lee Loy’s voter registration in District 2.

However, the board notified the group on Jan. 7 that one of its members had recused herself from considering the appeal, leaving the board without a quorum. The board is supposed to have three members, but one of the seats is vacant. That appeal is pending.

Mark Morita, acting chief attorney for the state House, announced this month he plans to represent the House and Lee Loy in her official capacity in the Board of Registration complaint against Lee Loy.

Lee Loy’s in-laws and the three other voters have objected to Morita’s involvement, arguing the House has no legal standing to participate in the registration case, according to the complaint filed with Nakamura.

Bales said in a written statement that she has pursued the matter because as Lee Loy’s “immediate neighbor, I have first hand knowledge that she never moved to District 2. This is my kuleana (responsibility) to do something about the fraud she is committing.”

Lee Loy said she objects to Bales’ extensive use of video to record who comes and goes from the house as part of the residency challenges. Hilo lawyer Ted Hong, who is representing Lee Loy in her personal capacity, said he believes those videos have invaded Lee Loy’s son’s privacy.

“One of the concerns that we have is dragging a special needs, disabled adult who’s under guardianship into these proceedings,” Hong said.

Although the Legislature has the power to censure or expel representatives, that power is very rarely used. Longtime observers and members could recall no examples in recent decades where a lawmaker was expelled.

When asked what action Nakamura plans to take in connection with the Lee Loy complaint, House Director of Communications Cathy Lee replied only that “it’s a pending matter.”