Hawaii Remove Legislature Authority to Limit Marriage to Opposite-Sex Couples Amendment (2024)

Hawaii Remove Legislature Authority to Limit Marriage to Opposite-Sex Couples Amendment
Election date November 5, 2024
Topic Family-related policy and LGBTQ issues
Status Approved
Type Legislatively referred constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

The Hawaii Remove Legislature Authority to Limit Marriage to Opposite-Sex Couples Amendment was on the ballot in Hawaii as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 5, 2024. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported removing a provision of the constitution that states that "the legislature shall have the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples."

A "no" vote opposed removing a provision of the constitution that states that "the legislature shall have the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples."

Election results

Hawaii Remove Legislature Authority to Limit Marriage to Opposite-Sex Couples Amendment
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		268,038	55.94%
No		211,142	44.06%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What did the amendment do?

See also: Text of measure

The measure removed a provision of the constitution that stated that "the legislature shall have the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples."

What did supporters and opponents say about the measure?

See also: Support and Opposition

Hawaii's House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs testified that "despite the judicial pronouncement in Obergefell holding persons of the same sex may exercise the fundamental right to marry, the Supreme Court of the United States has recently taken the unprecedented step to eliminate rights the Court has previously recognized. On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, eliminated the right to abortion under the United States Constitution.  There is now concern that the Court will revisit its holding in Obergefell.  If the Supreme Court of the United States holds that the United States Constitution does not confer a right to marry for same-sex couples, then under the marriage amendment of the Hawaii State Constitution, the authority to limit marriage in the State of Hawaii is vested in the Legislature. This measure repeals the Legislature's authority to limit marriage."

Ballotpedia did not locate a campaign in opposition to the ballot measure.

Did other states vote to remove same-sex marriage bans from their state constitutions?

See also: Related measures

In 2024, voters in Colorado, California, and Hawaii voted on constitutional amendments to remove same-sex marriage bans.

In 2020, Nevada became the first state to repeal its same-sex marriage ban from its constitution. Along with repealing the 2002 amendment outlawing same-sex marriage, the approved amendment recognized marriage as between couples regardless of gender and stated that religious organizations and clergypersons have the right to refuse to solemnize a marriage. The state legislature referred the measure to the November 2020 ballot, where it was approved with 62.43% of the vote.

How did the amendment get on the ballot?

See also: Path to the ballot

This amendment was introduced as House Bill 2802 and was passed in the House on March 5, 2024, by a vote of 43-6. Among the 45 House Democrats, 42 voted in favor and one voted against. Among the six House Republicans, one voted in favor and one voted against. The Senate passed the amendment on April 9, 2024, in a vote of 24-1. All 23 Senate Democrats voted in favor of the amendment. Of the two Senate Republicans, one voted in favor and one voted against.

Text of measure

Ballot question

The ballot question was as follows:

“

Shall the state constitution be amended to repeal the legislature's authority to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples?

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article I, Hawaii Constitution

The measure repealed Section 23 of Article I of the state constitution. The following struck-through text was deleted and underlined text was added.

MARRIAGE

Section 23. The legislature shall have the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2024

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure.

The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 15, and the FRE is 20. The word count for the ballot title is 18.

Support

Vote Yes for Marriage Equality led the campaign in support of the amendment.

Supporters

Political Parties

• Democratic Party of Hawaii

Organizations

• ACLU of Hawaii
• Chamber of Sustainable Commerce
• Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement
• Hawaii AFL-CIO
• Hawaii Cannabis Industry Association
• Hawaii Health and Harm Reduction Center
• Hawaii LGBT Legacy Foundation
• Hawaii Rainbow Chamber Of Commerce
• Japanese American Citizens League Honolulu Chapter
• Kona Pride

Arguments

• Change 23: "This measure fortifies Hawaii’s position as a national leader in civic equality for sexual and gender minorities. For decades, Hawaiʻi laws have prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in public accommodations, housing, employment, and jury service. In recent years legal protections have been extended on the basis of gender and gender identity. In 2022, Hawaiʻi established an LGBTQ+ Commission to “recommend legislative and administrative action on equal treatment and opportunities” for LGBTQ+ residents, among other functions. This measure does not interfere with the First Amendment rights of religious entities to solemnize marriages in a manner consistent with its doctrinal tenets and sectarian beliefs."
• Jeff Hong, chair of the Change 23 Coalition: "People don't realize that you leave these mistakes in your constitution. There's similar things happening with abortion rights in many jurisdictions, they're like 'This is a done deal,' and then pow, right after the Dobbs decision, abortion is illegal in their jurisdictions, right? And so you don't want to leave it in there."
• State Rep. Adrian Tam (D-24): "We passed out of the House the first step to removing discriminatory language that should’ve never been in the constitution in the first place and unfairly excluded the LGBTQ+ community for the past 26 years. Our constitution should reflect inclusivity, embracing the rights of every individual, including the LGBTQ+ community."

Opposition

You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Hawaii ballot measures

The campaign finance information on this page reflects the most recent scheduled reports that Ballotpedia has processed, which covered through November 5, 2024.

Vote Yes for Marriage Equality registered to support the amendment. The committee reported $81,972.01 in contributions.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$81,472.01	$500.00	$81,972.01	$70,419.59	$70,919.59
Oppose	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Total	$81,472.01	$500.00	$81,972.01	$70,419.59	$70,919.59

Support

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committee in support of the amendment.

Committees in support of Remove Legislature Authority to Limit Marriage to Opposite-Sex Couples Amendment
Committee	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Vote Yes for Marriage Equality	$81,472.01	$500.00	$81,972.01	$70,419.59	$70,919.59
Total	$81,472.01	$500.00	$81,972.01	$70,419.59	$70,919.59

Donors

The five top donors to the support campaign were as follows:

Donor	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions
Hawaii Civil Rights Voter Education Fund	$25,000.00	$0.00	$25,000.00
HSTA Political Action Fund	$10,000.00	$0.00	$10,000.00
Column NA/FBO/Alohilani Resort Waikiki	$5,000.00	$0.00	$5,000.00
Human Rights Campaign	$5,000.00	$0.00	$5,000.00
JACL of Hawaii Honolulu Chapter	$5,000.00	$0.00	$5,000.00

Opposition

If you are aware of a committee registered to oppose this measure, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Methodology

To read Ballotpedia's methodology for covering ballot measure campaign finance information, click here.

Background

Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

On June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court held in a 5-4 decision that same-sex marriage is protected under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. Consequently, same-sex marriage bans have been struck down as unconstitutional and same-sex marriages performed out-of-state must be recognized in other states. Justice Anthony Kennedy authored the opinion and Justices Ruth Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan joined.

History of marriage in Hawaii

In 1998, Hawaii adopted a constitutional amendment adding language to the state constitution stating "The legislature shall have the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples." Voters approved the amendment with 71% of voters in favor and 29% opposed.

In 2013, the state passed the Hawaii Marriage Equality Act, which made Hawaii the 15th state to allow for same-sex marriage.

Same-sex marriage measures

See also: History of same-sex marriage ballot measures

Between 1998 and 2012, voters in 30 states approved ballot measures that defined marriage as between one male and one female or otherwise prohibited same-sex marriage. The U.S. Supreme Court invalidated bans on same-sex marriage in the case Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015.

• 1998: Alaska
• 2000: Nebraska
• 2002: Nevada
• 2004: Arkansas
• 2004: Georgia
• 2004: Kentucky
• 2004: Louisiana
• 2004: Michigan
• 2004: Mississippi
• 2004: Missouri
• 2004: Montana
• 2004: North Dakota
• 2004: Ohio
• 2004: Oklahoma
• 2004: Oregon
• 2004: Utah
• 2005: Kansas
• 2005: Texas
• 2006: Alabama
• 2006: Colorado
• 2006: Idaho
• 2006: South Carolina
• 2006: South Dakota
• 2006: Tennessee
• 2006: Virginia
• 2006: Wisconsin
• 2008: Arizona
• 2008: California
• 2008: Florida
• 2012: North Carolina

In 2020, Nevada became the first state to repeal its same-sex marriage ban from its constitution. Along with repealing the 2002 amendment outlawing same-sex marriage, the approved amendment recognized marriage as between couples regardless of gender and stated that religious organizations and clergypersons have the right to refuse to solemnize a marriage. The state legislature referred the measure to the November 2020 ballot, where it was approved with 62.43% of the vote.

Measures to repeal state constitutional same-sex marriage bans in 2024

The following table provides a list of measures to repeal same-sex marriage bans from states' constitutions in 2024:

State	Type	Title	Description	Result	Yes Votes	No Votes
CA	LRCA	Proposition 3	Repeal Proposition 8 and establish a right to marry	a	9,477,435 (63%)	5,658,187 (37%)
CO	LRCA	Amendment J	Remove the provision of the state constitution that says "Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state"	a	1,982,200 (64%)	1,099,228 (36%)
HI	LRCA	Remove Legislature Authority to Limit Marriage to Opposite-Sex Couples Amendment	Remove provision of the constitution saying that "the legislature shall have the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples"	a	268,038 (56%)	211,142 (44%)

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Hawaii Constitution

The state process

The Hawaii State Legislature can put a proposed amendment on the ballot upon either a two-thirds (66.67%) 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% 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% of the total number of registered voters in the state at the time.

This amendment was introduced as House Bill 2802 and was passed in the House on March 5, 2024, by a vote of 43-6. Among the 45 House Democrats, 42 voted in favor and one voted against. Among the six House Republicans, one voted in favor and one voted against. The Senate passed the amendment on April 9, 2024, in a vote of 24-1. All 23 Senate Democrats voted in favor of the amendment. Of the two Senate Republicans, one voted in favor and one voted against.

Vote in the Hawaii House of Representatives March 5, 2024
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote in each chamber; or a simple majority vote in each chamber in two sessions
Number of yes votes required: 34  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	43	6	2
Total percent	84.31%	11.76%	3.92%
Democrat	42	1	2
Republican	1	5	0

Vote in the Hawaii State Senate April 9, 2024
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote in each chamber; or a simple majority vote in each chamber in two sessions
Number of yes votes required: 17  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	24	1	0
Total percent	96.00%	4.00%	0.00%
Democrat	23	0	0
Republican	1	1	0

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Hawaii

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Hawaii.

How to vote in Hawaii

Poll times

As of 2020, Hawaii is an all-mail voting state, which means that its elections are conducted almost exclusively by mail. There are voter service centers that are open from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time on election day, and with varying hours for ten business days prior to each election, to receive personal delivery of mail-in ballots, accommodate voters with special needs, offer same-day registration and voting, and provide other election services.

To find the locations and hours of voter service centers, see here.

Registration

Check your voter registration status here.

To register to vote in Hawaii, one must be a United States citizen, a resident of the state, and at least 18 years old. Pre-registration is available beginning at age 16.

Registration can be completed in the following ways:

Online: Visit olvr.hawaii.gov. You must have a current Hawaii Driver’s License or State ID to complete an application online.

Mail: Print & submit a completed Voter Registration Application to your Clerk’s Office. Paper application must be submitted to the county elections division by 4:30 PM on the tenth day before each election.

In-person: Visit the Office of Elections or a Clerk’s Office to submit an application in person.

Applications are available at any of the following locations:

• County Elections Divisions
• Clerk’s Offices
• State Libraries
• U.S. Post Offices
• Most State Agencies
• Satellite City Halls

Same-day voter registration is available at voter service centers, to register and vote in-person, beginning 10 days prior and through election day. Paper registration applications must be submitted to county election divisions by 4:30 PM on the tenth day before each election. Once you are registered, you do not need to re-register for another election unless your residence address, mailing address, or name changes. Hawaii adopted same-day registration in 2014; implementation occurred in 2018.

Automatic registration

Hawaii offers automatic voter registration for eligible individuals through the Department of Motor Vehicles when they complete a driver license or state ID application, and the Department of Health and Department of Human Services when applying to receive public assistance.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Hawaii has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

Hawaii allows same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

To register to vote in Hawaii, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify a length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible. The voter registration application includes the following language: "The residence stated in this affidavit is not simply because of my presence in the State, but was acquired with the intent to make Hawaii my legal residence with all the accompanying obligations therein."

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Hawaii does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. According to the state's voter registration application, "any person who knowingly furnishes false information may be guilty of a Class C felony."

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

Hawaii's Online Voter Registration System, run by the Hawaii Office of Elections, allows residents to check their voter registration status online.

Voter ID requirements

Voters in Hawaii are not generally required to present identification while voting. In 2019, the statute requiring voters to present identification if so requested by a precinct official was repealed.

When registering to vote for the first time, a Hawaii Driver License, Hawaii State ID, or the last 4-digits of the voter's Social Security Number is required. If none of these can be provided, one of the following must be provided as proof of identification:

• A current and valid photo identification; or
• A current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows your name and address.

See also

2024 measures

• 2024 ballot measures
• Marriage and family on the ballot

Hawaii

• Hawaii ballot measures
• Hawaii ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• House Bill 2802 (2024)