Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
Hawaii Election Expenditures Excluded from Constitutionally Protected Freedom of Speech Amendment (2026)
| Hawaii Election Expenditures Excluded from Constitutionally Protected Freedom of Speech Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2026 | |
| Topic Campaign finance and Constitutional rights | |
| Status Proposed | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The Hawaii Election Expenditures Excluded from Constitutionally Protected Freedom of Speech Amendment may appear on the ballot in Hawaii as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 3, 2026.[1]
The amendment would provide that election expenditures are not a form of constitutionally protected free speech, which would take effect if U.S. Supreme Court rulings in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and Buckley v. Valeo are invalidated or overturned.[2]
Text of measure
Full text
The full text of the amendment can be read here.
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Hawaii Constitution
Amending the Hawaii Constitution
- See also: Amending the Hawaii Constitution
A two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required during one legislative session or a simple majority vote in two successive legislative sessions for the Hawaii State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 35 votes in the Hawaii House of Representatives and 17 votes in the Hawaii State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
Senate Bill 311 (2025)
The following is the timeline of the constitutional amendment in the state legislature:
- January 15, 2025: Senate Bill 311 (SB 311) was introduced.[1]
- March 4, 2025: The Hawaii State Senate passed SB 311 by a vote of 25-0.[1]
See also
External linksFootnotes
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
