SB 2315: Constitutional Amendment; General Elections; Amendment Process; Tallying; Votes

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:

     SECTION 1.  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.  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.

     Pursuant to the Hawaii State Constitution, the standard for passage of a proposed constitutional amendment is two-fold.  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.  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".  In practical terms, this means that all ballots that are validly returned are considered to have been cast.  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.  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.

     Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to propose an amendment to 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.  Only ballots that indicate a "no" vote will be counted as "no".

     The legislature notes that this proposed 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.

     SECTION 2.  Article XVII, section 3, of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii is amended to read as follows:

"AMENDMENTS PROPOSED BY LEGISLATURE

     Section 3.  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.

     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.

     At such general election the proposed amendments shall be submitted to the electorate for approval or rejection upon a separate ballot.

     [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.] The proposed amendments shall be effective only if approved at a general election by a majority of all the votes tallied upon the question."

     SECTION 3.  The question to be printed on the ballot shall be as follows:

     "Shall the Constitution of the State of Hawaii be amended to change how votes are counted for constitutional amendments proposed by the Legislature so that only ballots that vote "yes" or "no" on the amendment are counted, and blank, spoiled, or over votes are not counted as votes against the amendment?"

     SECTION 4.  Constitutional material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New constitutional material is underscored.

     SECTION 5.  This amendment shall take effect on July 1, 2050, upon compliance with article XVII, section 3, of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii.

Report Title:

Constitutional Amendment; 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 provide that proposed amendments shall be effective only if approved at a general election by a majority of all the votes tallied upon the question.  Effective 7/1/2050.  (HD1)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.

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:

     SECTION 1.  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.  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.

     Pursuant to the Hawaii State Constitution, the standard for passage of a proposed constitutional amendment is two-fold.  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.  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".  In practical terms, this means that all ballots that are validly returned are considered to have been cast.  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.  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.

     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.  Only ballots that indicate a "no" vote will be counted as "no".

     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.

     SECTION 2.  Article XVII, section 3, of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii is amended to read as follows:

"AMENDMENTS PROPOSED BY LEGISLATURE

     Section 3.  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.

     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.

     At such general election the proposed amendments shall be submitted to the electorate for approval or rejection upon a separate ballot.

     [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.] The proposed amendments shall be effective only if approved at a general election by a majority of all the votes tallied upon the question."

     SECTION 3.  The question to be printed on the ballot shall be as follows:

     "Under the current language of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii, there are two requirements to approve a constitutional amendment:  First, a majority of voters must vote "yes" on the proposed amendment, based on the "majority of all votes tallied" requirement.  Second, this majority must also represent a majority of all votes "cast", including blank votes, spoiled votes, and over votes.

     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 that only ballots that indicate a "no" vote be counted as "no"?"

     SECTION 4.  Constitutional material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New constitutional material is underscored.

     SECTION 5.  This amendment shall take effect on July 1, 2050, upon compliance with article XVII, section 3, of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii.

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 provide that proposed amendments shall be effective only if approved at a general election by a majority of all the votes tallied upon the question.  Effective 7/1/2050.  (SD2)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.

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:

     SECTION 1.  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.  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.

     Pursuant to the Hawaii State Constitution, the standard for passage of a proposed constitutional amendment is two-fold.  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.  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".  In practical terms, this means that all ballots that are validly returned are considered to have been cast.  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.  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.

     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.  Only ballots that indicate a "no" vote will be counted as "no".

     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.

     SECTION 2.  Article XVII, section 3, of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii is amended to read as follows:

     "AMENDMENTS PROPOSED BY LEGISLATURE

     Section 3.  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.

     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.

     At such general election the proposed amendments shall be submitted to the electorate for approval or rejection upon a separate ballot.

     [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.] The proposed amendments shall be effective only if approved at a general election by a majority of all the votes tallied upon the question."

     SECTION 3.  The question to be printed on the ballot shall be as follows:

     "Under the current language of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii, there are two requirements to approve a constitutional amendment:  First, a majority of voters must vote "yes" on the proposed amendment, based on the "majority of all votes tallied" requirement.  Second, this majority must also represent a majority of all votes "cast", including blank votes, spoiled votes, and over votes.

     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 that only ballots that indicate a "no" vote be counted as "no"?"

     SECTION 4.  Constitutional material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New constitutional material is underscored.

     SECTION 5.  This amendment shall take effect upon compliance with article XVII, section 3, of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii.

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.  (SD1)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.

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:

     SECTION 1.  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.  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.

     Pursuant to the Hawaii State Constitution, the standard for passage of a proposed constitutional amendment is two-fold.  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.  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".  In practical terms, this means that all ballots that are validly returned are considered to have been cast.  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.  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.

     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.  Only ballots that indicate a "no" vote will be counted as "no".

     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.

     SECTION 2.  Article XVII, section 3, of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii is amended to read as follows:

     "AMENDMENTS PROPOSED BY LEGISLATURE

     Section 3.  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.

     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.

     At such general election the proposed amendments shall be submitted to the electorate for approval or rejection upon a separate ballot.

     [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.]  The proposed amendments shall be effective only if approved at a general election by a majority of all the votes tallied upon the question."

     SECTION 3.  The question to be printed on the ballot shall be as follows:

     "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:  First, a majority of the votes tallied must be in support of the amendment.  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.

     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"?"

     SECTION 4.  Constitutional material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New constitutional material is underscored.

     SECTION 5.  This amendment shall take effect upon compliance with article XVII, section 3, of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii.

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.

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2711

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:     S.B. No. 2315

        S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2315, S.D. 1, entitled:

"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,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to propose an amendment to the Hawaii State Constitution to provide that constitutional amendments proposed by the Legislature shall be effective only if approved at a general election by a majority of all the votes tallied upon the question.

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the League of Women Voters of Hawaii and two individuals.

     Your Committee received written comments in opposition to this measure from the Libertarian Party of Hawaii and two individuals.

     Your Committee recognizes that the Hawaii State Constitution provides for a two-step process for ratifying a proposed constitutional amendment in a general election.  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.  Second, this majority must also represent a majority of all votes cast in the election, per the requirement that the majority constitute at least fifty percent of the total vote cast at the election, meaning that all ballots that are validly returned are considered to have been cast.  Your Committee notes that this means that if voter responds to a proposed constitutional amendment question by leaving the answer blank, spoiling the ballot, or over voting, the answer is counted as a "no" vote.  Your Committee also recognizes that this effectively makes the threshold for passing a state constitutional amendment significantly higher than fifty percent of the voters voting "yes" or "no" on the amendment question.  Your Committee believes that to prevent confusion and avoid unintended results, with respect to a constitutional amendment question proposed by the Legislature, the only votes that should be tallied for the question should be the "yes" votes and "no" votes, and not any blank, spoiled, or over votes.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2315, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2315, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2152

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:     S.B. No. 2315

        S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 2315 entitled:

"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,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to amend article XVII, section 3, of the Hawaii State Constitution regarding the standard of 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.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the League of Women Voters of Hawaii and three individuals.

     Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from two individuals.

     Your Committee finds that pursuant to the Hawaii State Constitution, the standard for passage of a proposed constitutional amendment is two-fold.  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, per the requirement of article XVII, section 2, of the Hawaii State Constitution.  Second, this majority must also represent a majority of all votes cast in the election, per the requirement that the majority constitute at least fifty percent of the total vote cast at the election, meaning that all ballots that are validly returned are considered to have been cast.  If a 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.  Thus, when factoring all votes cast, the actual threshold for passage of a state constitutional amendment can be significantly higher than fifty percent of voters voting "yes" or "no" on the question.  The constitutional amendment proposed by this measure will prevent confusion and avoid unintended results by the voter by only counting ballots that indicate a "no" vote on a constitutional amendment as "no".

     Your Committee has amended this measure by clarifying the question to be printed on the ballot.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2315, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2315, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,