Hawaii 2016 ballot measures

2016 Hawaii Ballot Measures
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Two statewide ballot measures were certified to appear on the Hawaii ballot on November 8, 2016.

HIGHLIGHTS

One of the certified measures, Amendment 1, addressed the threshold of financial damage required for establishing the right to a trial by jury.

The other certified measure, Amendment 2, addressed adding bond and pension payments as dispositions of excess general fund revenues.

Getting measures on the ballot

Hawaii does not allow the initiative and referendum process, so all ballot measures must be referred by the legislature. The state legislative session ran from January 20 through May 5, 2016, during which time the legislature was able to place legislatively referred constitutional amendments on the ballot. The Hawaii State Legislature can put a proposed amendment on the ballot upon either a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers of the legislature in the same session or two simple majority votes in both chambers held in two successive sessions. Constitutional amendments must be approved by a majority of the votes cast for the question, as long as the majority also is at least 50 percent of the total votes cast in the entire election. For measures approved at special elections by a majority of votes cast for the question, the majority must be at least 30 percent of the total number of registered voters in the state at the time.

Historical facts

See also: List of Hawaii ballot measures

• Between 1996 and 2014, Hawaiians voted on 33 measures, and they will vote on two measures in 2016, bringing the total of measures voted on in the last 20 years to at least 35.
• Since 1996, the average number of measures on the ballot is about three, not including 2016.
• Of the 33 measures voted on since 1996, two-thirds (22 of 33) were approved and one third (11 of 33) were defeated.

On the ballot

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
LRCA	Amendment 1	Trials	Increases the threshold value in controversy requirement for jury trials	d
LRCA	Amendment 2	Gov't Finances	Add alternatives for the disposition of excess general fund revenues	a

Not on ballot

The 2016 regular session of the Hawaii State Legislature ended on May 5, 2016. The legislature put two ballot measures on the 2016 ballot.

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
LRCA	Crime Victims' Bill of Rights Amendment	Trials	Creates a crime victims' bill of rights
LRCA	Lower Voting Age to Sixteen Amendment	Suffrage	Lowers the voting age for state and local elections to 16
LRCA	Referendum Amendment	Direct Democracy	Provides for a referendum process
LRCA	Recall Amendment	Recall	Provides for the power to recall elected officials
LRCA	Political Affiliation Requirement Amendment	Suffrage	Requires a voter to declare party preference or nonpartisanship
LRCA	Legislative Term Limits Amendment	Term Limits	Limits legislators to serving a maximum of 12 consecutive years in the legislature
LRCA	Same-Sex Marriage Ban Amendment	Marriage	Prohibits same-sex marriages
LRCA	Unicameral Legislature Amendment	Legislature	Creates a unicameral legislature in place of the state’s bicameral legislature
LRCA	Residency Requirement for Legislative Candidates Amendment	Legislature	Requires that a state legislative candidate must live in the district that he or she is running in for at least twelve preceding months
LRCA	Residency Requirement for Department Officials Amendment	State Exec	Repeals the residency requirement for appointments to state departments
LRCA	Elected Attorney General Amendment	State Exec	Provides that the Attorney General be elected, rather than appointed
LRCA	Resign-to-Run Amendment	Elections	Requires local and state public officers to resign in order to run for a state or federal office that begins before the end of the term for their current office
LRCA	Initiative, Referendum and Recall Amendment	Direct Democracy	Provides for initiative, referendum and recall
LRCA	Supermajority Vote to Raise Taxes Amendment	Legislature	Requires a two-thirds vote in the legislature to raise or create new taxes
LRCA	Original Purpose of Bills Amendment	Legislature	Prohibits a bill from become law if it losses its original purpose throughout the legislative process
LRCA	Electronic Bills Amendment	Legislature	Allows electronic copies of a bill to be distributed to legislators
LRCA	Local School Boards Amendment	Education	Abolishes the statewide board of education and establishes at least seven elected local school boards
LRCA	Jurisdiction over the University of Hawaii Amendment	Education	Divests the board of regents of exclusive jurisdiction over the University of Hawaii
LRCA	Repeal of Regent Candidate Advisory Council Amendment	Education	Repeals the requirement that appointments to the board of regents be made from a pool of candidates picked by a candidate advisory council
LRCA	Maturation of General Obligation Bonds Amendment	Bonds	Requires the first principal installment of general obligation bonds to mature not later than one year from the date of issuance
LRCA	Reapportionment Commission from Four Island Units Amendment	Redistricting	Requires the reapportionment commission be composed of members from each of the four basic island units
LRCA	Appropriation Exemption for Educational Facilities Fund Amendment	Gov't Finances	Repeals exemption from appropriations requirement for the state educational facilities improvement fund

State profile

Demographic data for Hawaii
	Hawaii	U.S.
Total population:	1,425,157	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	6,423	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	25.4%	73.6%
Black/African American:	2%	12.6%
Asian:	37.7%	5.1%
Native American:	0.2%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	9.9%	0.2%
Two or more:	23.7%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	9.9%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	91%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	30.8%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$69,515	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	11.6%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Hawaii. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Hawaii

Hawaii voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

More Hawaii coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Hawaii
• United States congressional delegations from Hawaii
• Public policy in Hawaii
• Endorsers in Hawaii
• Hawaii fact checks
• More...

External links

• Hawaii Constitutional and Charter Amendment Questions
• Hawaii Office of Elections

See also

• 2016 ballot measures
• List of Hawaii ballot measures
• Laws governing ballot measures in Hawaii
• Campaign finance requirements for Hawaii ballot measures