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SB2315
THE SENATE
S.B. NO.
2315
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII
A BILL FOR AN ACT
PROPOSING
AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE XVII, SECTION 3 OF THE HAWAII STATE CONSTITUTION TO
SPECIFY THAT THE STANDARD FOR VOTER APPROVAL OF A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
PROPOSED BY THE LEGISLATURE IS A MAJORITY OF ALL THE VOTES TALLIED UPON THE
QUESTION
.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
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SECTION 1.
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The
legislature finds that the Hawaii State Constitution is at times amended when
voters in a general election approve a proposed amendment that has been placed
on the election ballot.
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The legislature
further finds that the manner in which ballot responses are required to be
counted for state constitutional amendment purposes, by deeming ballots left
blank, spoiled, or over voted as a vote in opposition to the proposed
amendment, is confusing and may lead to a result unintended by the voter.
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Pursuant to the Hawaii State Constitution,
the standard for passage of a proposed constitutional amendment is
two-fold.
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First, a majority of voters
must have voted "yes" on the proposed amendment question, based on
the "majority of all the votes tallied upon the question" requirement
that appears in article XVII, section 2 of the Hawaii State Constitution.
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Second, this majority must also represent a
majority of all votes cast in the election, based on that same section's
requirement that the majority constitute "at least fifty per cent of the
total vote cast at the election".
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In practical terms, this means that all ballots that are validly
returned are considered to have been cast.
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So if the voter responded to the proposed amendment question by leaving
the answer blank, spoiling the ballot, or over voting, the answer is counted as
a "no" vote.
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Thus, when
factoring in all votes cast, the actual threshold for passage of a state
constitutional amendment can be significantly higher than fifty per cent of
voters voting "yes" or "no" on the question.
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Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to
amend article XVII, section 3 of the Hawaii State Constitution regarding the
standard for ratification of a constitutional amendment proposed by the
legislature to require that a majority of all the votes tallied upon the
question be a "yes" vote, and not include blank, spoiled, and over
votes in determining whether a majority was reached.
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Only ballots that indicate a "no"
vote will be counted as "no".
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The legislature notes that this amendment
is not intended to change the standard for tabulating votes on constitutional
amendments that are generated by a constitutional convention, and will
therefore leave unamended the relevant language in article XVII, section 2 of
the Hawaii State Constitution.
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SECTION
2
.
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Article XVII, section 3, of the Constitution
of the State of Hawaii is amended to read as follows:
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"
AMENDMENTS PROPOSED BY LEGISLATURE
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Section
3.
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The legislature may propose
amendments to the constitution by adopting the same, in the manner required for
legislation, by a two-thirds vote of each house on final reading at any
session, after either or both houses shall have given the governor at least ten
days' written notice of the final form of the proposed amendment, or, with or
without such notice, by a majority vote of each house on final reading at each
of two successive sessions.
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Upon such adoption, the proposed amendments
shall be entered upon the journals, with the ayes and noes, and published once
in each of four successive weeks in at least one newspaper of general
circulation in each senatorial district wherein such a newspaper is published,
within the two months' period immediately preceding the next general election.
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At such general election the proposed
amendments shall be submitted to the electorate for approval or rejection upon
a separate ballot.
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[
The conditions of and requirements for
ratification of such proposed amendments shall be the same as provided in
section 2 of this article for ratification at a general election.
]
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The proposed amendments shall be effective
only if approved at a general election by a majority of all the votes tallied
upon the question.
"
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SECTION 3.
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The question to be printed on the ballot shall be as follows:
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"Under the current language of the
Constitution of the State of Hawaii, there are two requirements to approve a
constitutional amendment, whether proposed by the Legislature or by a
Constitutional Convention:
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First, a
majority of the votes tallied must be in support of the amendment.
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Second, a majority of the votes cast must be
in support, meaning that blank votes, spoiled votes, and over votes are counted
as "no" votes.
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Shall the Constitution of the State of
Hawaii be amended to change the standard for voter approval of constitutional
amendments that are proposed by the Legislature, to require solely that a
majority of the votes tallied approve of the amendment and to delete the
additional requirement that there be approval by a majority of the votes cast
so that only ballots that indicate a "no" vote on the constitutional
amendment be counted as "no"?"
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SECTION 4.
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Constitutional material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.
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New constitutional material is underscored.
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SECTION 5.
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This amendment shall take effect upon compliance with article XVII,
section 3, of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii.
INTRODUCED BY:
_____________________________
Report Title:
ConAm;
General Elections; Amendment Process; Tallying; Votes
Description:
Proposes
to amend article XVII, section 3 of the Hawaii State Constitution regarding the
standard for ratification of a constitutional amendment proposed by the Legislature,
to require that a majority of all the votes tallied upon the question be a
"yes" vote, and not include blank, spoiled, and over votes in
determining whether a majority was reached.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.