520
Opinion of the Court
erally recognized' tribes." 417 U. S., at 553, n. 24. "In this sense," the Court held, "the preference [was] political rather than racial in nature." Ibid.; see also id., at 554 ("The preference, as applied, is granted to Indians not as a discrete racial group, but, rather, as members of quasi-sovereign tribal entities whose lives and activities are governed by the BIA in a unique fashion"). Because the BIA preference could be "tied rationally to the fulfillment of Congress' unique obligation toward the Indians," and was "reasonable and rationally designed to further Indian self-government," the Court held that it did not offend the Constitution. Id., at 555. The opinion was careful to note, however, that the case was confined to the authority of the BIA, an agency described as "sui generis." Id., at 554.
Hawaii would extend the limited exception of Mancari to a new and larger dimension. The State contends that "one of the very purposes of OHA—and the challenged voting provision—is to afford Hawaiians a measure of self-governance," and so it fits the model of Mancari. Brief for Respondent 34. It does not follow from Mancari, however, that Congress may authorize a State to establish a voting scheme that limits the electorate for its public officials to a class of tribal Indians, to the exclusion of all non-Indian citizens.
The tribal elections established by the federal statutes the State cites illuminate its error. See Brief for Respondent 22 (citing, e. g., the Menominee Restoration Act, 25 U. S. C. § 903b, and the Indian Reorganization Act, 25 U. S. C. § 476). If a non-Indian lacks a right to vote in tribal elections, it is for the reason that such elections are the internal affair of a quasi sovereign. The OHA elections, by contrast, are the affair of the State of Hawaii. OHA is a state agency, established by the State Constitution, responsible for the administration of state laws and obligations. See Haw. Const., Art. XII, §§ 5-6. The Hawaiian Legislature has declared that OHA exists to serve "as the principal public agency in th[e]
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