The Hawaiʻi

State Constitutional Convention Clearinghouse

Information Related to Hawaiʻi's November 6, 2018 State Constitutional Convention Referendum

Quotes

“The founders of our state recognized the importance of maintaining a living, evolving constitution when they incorporated a provision that calls for a constitutional convention every 10 years.”

–Lt. Gov. James R. “Duke” Aiona, Jr. , Why I Support a Constitutional Convention,
HawaiiReporter.com, December 17, 2007.

“Hawaii [has] sought to bypass recalcitrant legislatures through constitutional provisions mandating submission of the question of calling a convention at stated intervals.”

–Stalling, Judy #., Hawaii Constitutional Convention Studies, Article XV: Revision and Amendment,
Legislative Reference Bureau, July 1968, p. 5.

“[T]he key basis of division and conflict in constitutional revision is between reformers and the guardians of the status quo.”

–Cornwell, Elmer E., Jay S. Goodman, and Wayne R. Swanson. State constitutional conventions.
Praeger, 1975, p. 200.

“The 1978 Constitutional Convention resulted in a number of significant achievements that continue to shape our government, including the creation of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; establishment of term limits for the Governor and Lieutenant Governor; creation of the Judicial Selection Commission; requirement that the Governor submit an annual balanced budget; creation of the Council on Revenues to prepare revenue estimates for a six-year planning period; establishment of the resign-to-run provisions for elected officials seeking another political office; and adoption of the Hawaiian language as an official state language.”

–Constitutional Convention Cost Task Force, Projecting the Cost of a Constitutional Convention in Hawai’i–Final Report,
State of Hawai’i, August 1, 2008

“[O]ur Con Con choice presents a referendum on whether we are satisfied with the status quo and believe it is delivering and will deliver what we want, or whether there’s a better way forward. And it also asks us to dare to consider change, and to believe that we can in fact face our challenges, review our assumptions, adjust our course as needed, and control our own future. That’s why it’s our Hawaii’s most crucial vote this November.”

–Case, Ed, Getting a fix on the Con Con,
Star-Bulletin, May 25, 2008.

“Democracy may be our birthright as Americans, but it’s not something we can ever take for granted. Every generation has to fight for it, has to push us closer to that more perfect union. That time has come again.”

–Hillary Rodham Clinton, American Democracy Is in Crisis, The Atlantic, September 16, 2018.

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