Article II, Hawaii Constitution

Hawaii Constitution
Preamble
Articles
I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX • X • XI • XII • XIII • XIV • XV • XVI • XVII • XVIII

Article II of the Hawaii Constitution is entitled Suffrage and Elections. It has ten sections.

Section 1

	Text of Section 1: Qualifications Every citizen of the United States who shall have attained the age of eighteen years, have been a resident of this State not less than one year next preceding the election and be a voter registered as provided by law, shall be qualified to vote in any state or local election.

Amendments

• Amended by Constitutional Convention (1968) and election on November 5, 1968.
• Amended by SB 41 (1971) and election November 7, 1972.
• Amended by Constitutional Convention (1978) and election on November 7, 1978.

Section 2

	Text of Section 2: Disqualification No person who is non compos mentis shall be qualified to vote. No person convicted of a felony shall be qualified to vote except upon the person's final discharge or earlier as provided by law.

Amendments

• Amended by Constitutional Convention (1978) and election on November 7, 1978.

Section 3

	Text of Section 3: Residence No person shall be deemed to have gained or lost residence simply because of the person's presence or absence while employed in the service of the United States, or while engaged in navigation or while a student at any institution of learning.

Amendments

• Amended by Constitutional Convention (1978) and election on November 7, 1978.

Section 4

Text of Section 4: Registration; Voting The legislature shall provide for the registration of voters and for absentee voting and shall prescribe the method of voting at all elections. Secrecy of voting shall be preserved; provided that no person shall be required to declare a party preference or nonpartisanship as a condition of voting in any primary or special primary election. Secrecy of voting and choice of political party affiliation or nonpartisanship shall be preserved.

Amendments

• Amended by Constitutional Convention (1978) and election on November 7, 1978.

Section 5

	Text of Section 5: Campaign Fund, Spending Limit The legislature shall establish a campaign fund to be used for partial public financing of campaigns for public offices of the State and its political subdivisions, as provided by law. The legislature shall provide a limit on the campaign spending of candidates.

Amendments

• Amended by Constitutional Convention (1978) and election on November 7, 1978.

Section 6

	Text of Section 6: Campaign Contributions Limits Limitations on campaign contributions to any political candidate, or authorized political campaign organization for such candidate, for any elective office within the State shall be provided by law.

Amendments

• Amended by Constitutional Convention (1978) and election on November 7, 1978.

Section 7

	Text of Section 7: Resignation from Public Office Any elected public officer shall resign from that office before being eligible as a candidate for another public office, if the term of the office sought begins before the end of the term of the office held.

Amendments

• Amended by Constitutional Convention (1978) and election on November 7, 1978.

Section 8

	Text of Section 8: General, Special and Primary Elections General elections shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in all even-numbered years. Special and primary elections may be held as provided by law; provided that in no case shall any primary election precede a general election by less than forty-five days.

Amendments

• Amended by Constitutional Convention (1968) and election on November 5, 1968.
• Amended by Constitutional Convention (1978) and election on November 7, 1978.

Section 9

	Text of Section 9: Presidential Preference Primary A presidential preference primary may be held as provided by law.

Amendments

• Amended by Constitutional Convention (1968) and election on November 5, 1968.
• Amended by Constitutional Convention (1978) and election on November 7, 1978.

Section 10

	Text of Section 10: Contested Elections Contested elections shall be determined by a court of competent jurisdiction in such manner as shall be provided by law.

Amendments

• Part of §5, amended by Constitutional Convention (1968) and election on November 5, 1968.
• Amended by Constitutional Convention (1978) and election on November 7, 1978.

See also

• State constitution
• Constitutional article
• Constitutional amendment
• Constitutional revision
• Constitutional convention
• Amendments
  • Initiated constitutional amendment
  • Legislatively-referred constitutional amendment
  • Publication requirements for proposed state constitutional amendments
  • Rules about constitutional conventions in state constitutions
  • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures

External links

Suggest a link

• Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau, "Hawaii Constitution"
• List of Hawaiian constitutions and constitutional conventions
• 1887 Hawaiian Constitution
• 1864 Hawaiian Constitution
• 1840 Hawaiian Constitution

Additional reading

• Time, "Should Hawaii Rewrite It's Constitution - Again?"
• Time, "Hawaii: The Big Change"
• Hawaiian Kingdom.org, "Constitutional History"
• History.com, "Jan 17, 1893: Americans overthrow Hawaiian monarchy"
• Lee, Anne (2011). The Hawaii State Constitution, New York, New York: Oxford University Press