A tied Hawaii Republican primary is heading back to court, leaving both candidates and voters in limbo just as general election ballots go to print.

• State Senator Kurt Fevella and challenger Bob McDermott each got exactly 1,212 votes in the primary, and McDermott won a tie-breaking drawing.
• The Hawaii Supreme Court already ruled that same tie-breaker method invalid in a separate district's case, and Fevella wants that applied to his race too.
• His problem is timing — he missed the original deadline to challenge the primary result, which the court could treat as fatal.
• He also points to two voters in his district who were handed the wrong ballots and never got to vote in the race.
• A do-over Republican primary would scramble the general election, where a Democrat is already campaigning without knowing the opponent.

Outlook: The court has to rule fast, because ballots are about to be printed and the seat's Republican nominee is still unsettled.