HONOLULU (AP) – The Native Hawaiian Roll Commission certified more than 125,000 people on its official register and they’re expecting a total of 130,000 to be certified.

Organizers shared the results with state senators on the Hawaiian Affairs Committee on Monday.

They say completing the registration is the first step toward organizing Hawaii’s first inhabitants to form their own government.

Former Gov. John Waihee is chairman of the Commission. He says that once the new government is formed, it can negotiate with the federal government to return military lands that were taken from the Hawaiian people.

Hawaiians who signed up on the roll will elect delegates in September online or through ballots that will be mailed around the world.

Registrations came from all 50 states in the nation and outside the U.S.