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American Samoa, Amendment 2, Remove Secretary of Interior's Power on High Court Decisions Measure (2022)

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American Samoa Amendment 2

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Election date

November 8, 2022

Topic
State judiciary
Status

DefeatedDefeated

Type
Constitutional convention referral 		Origin

Constitutional convention


American Samoa Amendment 2 was on the ballot as a constitutional convention referral in American Samoa on November 8, 2022. It was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported prohibiting the U.S. Secretary of Interior from having the power to change the decisions of the High Court of American Samoa. 

A "no" vote opposed prohibiting the U.S. Secretary of Interior from having the power to change the decisions of the High Court of American Samoa.


Election results

American Samoa Amendment 2

Result Votes Percentage
Yes 2,743 40.05%

Defeated No

4,106 59.95%
Results are officially certified.
Source


Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Amendment 2 was as follows:

“

The Secretary of Interior shall not have the power to change the decisions of the High Court of American Samoa. 

”

Constitutional changes

See also: American Samoa Constitution

The measure would have amended section 3 of Article III of the American Samoa Constitution. The following underlined text would have been added, and struck-through text would have been deleted:[1]

(a)The GovernorSecretary of the Interior shall appoint a Chief Justice of American Samoa and such Associate Justices as he may deem necessary. subject to confirmation by the Legislature.

(b)The Chief Justice and Associate Justices shall hold their offices during good behaviour until resignation, retirement, death, or impeachment.

5(c) Limiting Secretary's Power

The Secretary shall not review, overturn or intervene in the appeal of a decision of the High Court of American Samoa.[2]

Background

American Samoa High Court

Article III of the American Samoa Constitution established the judicial branch of the government—the High Court. The constitution gave the High Court jurisdiction "in cases involving a contested senatorial election by county council where there was a case or controversy, it arose under the constitution, laws or treaties, and the cause was described in jurisdictional statutes." At the time of the election, the Secretary of the Interior was authorized to appoint the chief justice and associate justices.

American Samoa constitutional conventions

As of 2022, the American Samoa Constitution authorized the governor to appoint a Constitutional Committee to propose amendments to a constitutional convention. Delegates to the constitutional convention were selected by their respective county councils. The number of delegates per county was calculated by dividing the population of the county by 400, and every county was guaranteed at least one delegate. Amendments proposed needed to receive a simple majority vote by voters and be approved by the U.S. Secretary of Interior.

The 2022 convention was the 6th convention since 1966. The last convention occurred in 2010. The 2010 referendum asked voters one question: "Do you approve the 2010 amendments to the Revised Constitution of American Samoa?" The question was rejected by a margin of 70.1% opposing the amendments to 29.9% supporting.[3][4][5]

Path to the ballot

The American Samoa Constitution authorized the governor to call a constitutional convention consisting of delegates appointed by county councils. The 6th Constitutional Convention of American Samoa convened on August 29, 2022, and adjourned on September 2, 2022. The number of delegates appointed was 129. The convention voted to refer 11 constitutional amendments to the ballot.[6][3]

The amendments needed a simple majority vote for approval. If approved, the amendments also needed to be approved by the U.S. Secretary of Interior.

See also

2022 Measures

American Samoa

News and analysis


Footnotes

  1. ↑ American Samoa, "Amendment Texts," accessed October 3, 2022
  2. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 American Samoa, "Office of the Governor of Samoa," June 20, 2022
  4. ↑ Samoa News, "ELECTION UPDATE: Sample ballot for referendum released," accessed October 3, 2022
  5. ↑ Samoa News, "Voters strongly reject constitutional revisions," November 3, 2010
  6. ↑ Talanei.com, "11 proposed constitutional changes on the ballot," September 9, 2022
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