Supermajority requirement

A supermajority requirement is a requirement in some votes and elections where more than a simple majority of those voting must vote in favor of a proposal in order for it to be considered to have been approved.

Examples of supermajority requirements:

Parcel tax elections in California. Local parcel tax ballot measures must win a 2/3rds supermajority in order to pass.
School bond elections in California. Local school bond ballot propositions require a 55% supermajority vote to pass.

Enact state budgets

Several states require a supermajority vote to pass their state's budget:

The Arkansas State Legislature requires 75% of members voting in favor of the state's budget for it to pass.
In Rhode Island, 2/3rds of the Legislature must vote in favor for a budget to be enacted.^[1]

Tax increases

Voters in the State of Washington passed I-960 in 2007, which imposed a 2/3rds requirement on the Washington State Legislature for tax increases. The state legislature overturned this initiative through legislative alteration, also known as legislative alteration, and its supporters then qualified I-1053 for the state's 2010 ballot. I-1053 was approved.

Per the Nevada Constitution, tax increases and any bill that includes them must be passed by a supermajority in each house and be signed by the governor.^[2] Due to a lack of funds for education, in 2003, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled in Governor v. State Legislature that the legislature's job to fund education was more important than adhering to the constitution's supermajority requirement. However, this ruling was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2006 in Governor v. Legislature.^[3]

Changing vote requirements

Measure that propose changing vote requirements require a supermajority vote. Passed in 1998, Oregon Ballot Measure 63 amended the state constitution to require that:

"Any measure that includes any proposed requirement for more than a majority of votes cast by the electorate to approve any change in law or government action shall become effective only if approved by at least the same percentage of voters specified in the proposed voting requirement."

This provision also applies to legislatively referred ballot measures.

Votes on constitutional amendments

See also: Legislatively-referred constitutional amendment and Initiated constitutional amendment

In some states, voters must approve a proposed constitutional amendment by more than a simple majority or by some rule that combines different criteria.

55 percent supermajority

Colorado. For a referred or initiated amendment to win in Colorado, it must win a supermajority vote of 55 percent of those voting on the question, according to Section 1 of Article V and Section 2 of Article XIX of the Colorado Constitution. This change was made via Amendment 71 in 2016.

60 supermajority

Illinois. For a constitutional amendment to win in Illinois, it must win a supermajority vote of 60 percent of those voting on the question or a majority of those who cast a ballot for any office in that election.

Florida. For a constitutional amendment to win in Florida, it must win a supermajority vote of 60 percent of those voting on the question, according to Section 5 of Article XI. This change was made via Amendment 3 in 2006.

2/3rds supermajority

New Hampshire: A proposed amendment must be approved by 2/3rds of those voting in order to become part of the state's constitution.

Other requirements

In Hawaii, a proposed amendment is considered to be approved if:

It is approved by a majority of all the votes tallied upon the question if this majority constitutes at least 50% of the total vote cast at the election, or,
If approved at a special election by a majority of all the votes tallied upon the question, if this majority consists of at least 30% of the total number of registered voters in the state at that time.

Illinois. For a constitutional amendment to win in Illinois, it must win a supermajority vote of 60% of those voting on the question or a majority of those who cast a ballot for any office in that election.

Minnesota. Proposed constitutional amendments in Minnesota require majority approval from all voters casting a ballot in the election. In other words, leaving a constitutional amendment question blank on the ballot is equivalent to voting "no" in Minnesota.

Tennessee. A proposed amendment in Tennessee must earn a majority of those voting on the amendment, and "a majority of all the citizens of the state voting for governor."

In Massachusetts, a proposed amendment can be passed by majority vote, provided that the total number of votes cast on the initiative equals at least 30% of the total votes cast in the election.

In Mississippi, an amendment is considered approved if it receives a majority vote, provided that the total number of votes cast on the initiative equals at least 40% of the total votes cast in the election.

In Nebraska, a proposed amendment becomes part of the Nebraska Constitution if it wins a majority vote and it wins the votes of at least 35% of those voting in the election for any office.

In Wyoming, a proposed amendment must be approved by a majority of all voters casting ballots at the election.

Note: In Utah, constitutional amendments put on the ballot by a constitutional convention require a majority vote of all voters at the election, but amendments referred to the ballot by the legislature require a majority vote of all voters on the measure.

Constitutional amendments of local applicability

In Louisiana, a simple majority vote is required to approve an amendment, unless the amendment affects five or fewer parishes, in which case it has to be approved by a majority statewide vote and by a majority vote in the parishes it affects. The same thing is true for an amendment that affects five or fewer municipalities in the state.

In Maryland, Article XIV of the Maryland Constitution allows for the possibility that some proposed constitutional amendments may apply to only one county (or the City of Baltimore, which is governed independently of a county structure). In this case, Article XIV says that in order to become part of the constitution, the proposed amendment must be approved by a majority vote not just statewide, but specifically in the county (or Baltimore) to which it exclusively applies.

In Alabama, there is a process for certain amendments determined to be of local applicability to be approved only in the county to which the amendment applies without requiring statewide voter approval.