A referendum on the Amendment 1 to the

Constitution of Hawaii The Constitution of the State of Hawaii (), also known as the Hawaii State Constitution, is the fundamental governing document of the U.S. state of Hawaii. As an organic text, it establishes the principles and framework of government, enumerate ...

was held on 5 November 2024. The amendment repealed the Hawaii's legislature's ability to limit marriage to heterosexual couples, reversing the

1998 Hawaii Amendment 2 Constitutional Amendment 2 of 1998 amended the Constitution of Hawaii, granting the state legislature the power to prevent same-sex marriage from being conducted or recognized in Hawaii. Amendment 2 was the first constitutional amendment adopt ...

. The majority of the voters backed the measure; it succeeded in all four of Hawaii's major counties. The wording of the ballot language proved confusing to a number of voters, who were unsure of what the amendment accomplished. The amendment passed simultaneously with similar ones in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Background

In 1993, the

Supreme Court of Hawaii The Supreme Court of Hawaii is the highest court of the State of Hawaii in the United States. Its decisions are binding on all other courts of the Hawaii State Judiciary. The principal purpose of the Supreme Court is to review the decisions ...

ruled that a ban on same-sex marriage violated the state's constitution in '' Baehr v. Miike''. However in 1998, Amendment 2 was approved via a referendum, allowing the Hawaii legislature to ban same-sex marriage. Hawaii ultimately legalized same-sex marriage in 2013, becoming the 15th state to do so and preceding the ''

Obergefell v. Hodges ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court which ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of th ...

'' by two years. Following the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

's decision in ''

Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ''Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization'', 597 U.S. 215 (2022), is a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court in which the court held ...

'' and hints by Supreme Court Justice

Clarence Thomas Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served since 1991 as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. President George H. W. Bush nominated him to succeed Thurgood Marshall. Afte ...

towards reconsidering ''Obergefell v. Hodges,'' activists have raised concerns over the ruling's future. Ballot measures in Hawaii, California and Colorado were intended to safeguard same-sex marriage if the decision was ever overturned.

Legislative process

Position

Parties

The

Democratic Party of Hawaii The Democratic Party of Hawaii (DPH; ) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Hawaii. It is currently the dominant party in the state, and is one of the strongest affiliates of the national Democratic Party. The party curren ...

backed the amendment, while the Republican Party of Hawaii neither endorsed nor opposed it.

Current and former elected officials

Josh Green, the Governor of Hawaii, supported the amendment, as did the former Governors David Ige and John D. Waiheʻe III. It was also backed by Senator

Brian Schatz Brian Emanuel Schatz ( ; born October 20, 1972) is an American educator and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Hawaii, a seat he has held since 2012. A member ...

and Representative

Ed Case Edward Espenett Case (born September 27, 1952) is an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he has served as the U.S. representative for Hawaii's 1st congressional district since 2019, which covers the urban core o ...

, as well as former Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Justice Steven Levinson and numerous other officials.

Organizations

Organizations such as ACLU of Hawaiʻi,

Japanese American Citizens League The is an Asian American civil rights charity, headquartered in San Francisco, with regional chapters across the United States. The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) describes itself as the oldest and largest Asian American civil rights ...

, Hawai`i LGBT Legacy Foundation, Hawai'i Health & Harm Reduction Center, Council For Native Hawaiian Advancement, Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, Change 23 Coalition, Papa Ola Lōkahi, Hawaii State Teachers Association, Hawai'i State AFL-CIO, Hawaii Workers Center, Hawaii Rainbow Chamber of Commerce, Rainbow Family 808, Highgate Hawaii, Equality HI, Common Cause Hawaii, O'ahu Jewish 'Ohana and Interfaith Alliance of Hawai'i supported the amendment.

Results

As of November 13, 2024, State of Hawaii released a final summary of votes.

Results by county

"Yes" performed moderately well across the state, winning four of five counties and performing the best in Hawai'i County.

By congressional district

"Yes" won both congressional districts.

References

Noes

{{2024 United States elections, state=collapsed Constitution of Hawaii Same-sex marriage ballot measures in the United States 2024 in Hawaii