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Forty-four amendments to the Alaska Constitution have been proposed by the Alaska Legislature and considered by voters of the United States state of Alaska since the Alaska Constitution became effective on January 3, 1959. Twenty-nine have been ratified by voters in a statewide election, and 15 failed to gain a majority of votes cast in a statewide general election.
Unlike amendments to the United States Constitution, Alaska's constitutional amendments are not referred to by number. Most have been revisions to the text of the Constitution rather than appendices to it, as with the American Bill of Rights.
The Alaska Constitution forms the basis of Alaska's system of civil authority and was written between November 8, 1955 and February 5, 1956 at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, Alaska. It was ratified during a statewide vote on April 24, 1956, with 17,477 votes in favor and 8,180 votes against.[1][2]
In Article XIII, the authors of the constitution created two methods for changing it. Proposing an amendment requires the approval of two-thirds of the Alaska House of Representatives (currently, 27 of 40 members) and two-thirds of the Alaska Senate (14 of 20 members).[3] If a proposed amendment is adopted by the Legislature, it must be ratified with a majority vote in the state's next general election. If not, it is not added to the constitution.[3]
This requirement was itself modified by amendment in 1974. Before that time, ratification votes took place at the next statewide election, even if that election was a primary or special election.[4]
Several constitutional amendments are proposed in the Alaska Legislature each year, but few reach the two-thirds majority. Since 2001, only three proposed amendments have been placed on the ballot, and of those, only one has been ratified.
The amendment powers of Article XIII are limited by a 1999 Alaska Supreme Court ruling. Amendments that alter multiple sections of the constitution are considered revisions and can be approved only at a constitutional convention.[5] The Alaska Legislature may call a constitutional convention at any time, and unless the Legislature calls a convention on its own, the Alaska Constitution requires that voters be asked every 10 years if they wish to call a convention.[3] In 1970, the first such referendum passed by a narrow margin, 34,911 votes to 34,472.[6] After a lawsuit, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that the referendum's ballot language was biased and required a new election.[7]
That vote, held in 1972, failed by a wide margin.[8] Alaska voters rejected conventions in 1982,[9] 1992,[10] 2002,[11] and 2012.[12] The next referendum is scheduled for the 2022 Alaska elections.
Year | Subject | Ratification vote |
---|---|---|
1966 | As originally written, Article V denied voting rights to anyone who had not lived in the state for at least one year.[13] This amendment removed that restriction for presidential elections and allowed the Alaska Legislature to impose a lower limit.[14] | Passed, 36,667–12,383[15] |
1968 | Article IV of the Alaska Constitution originally contained no provision for removing a judge for misconduct.[16] This amendment created a nine-person commission to investigate allegations of judicial misconduct, incapacity, and recommend action.[17][18] | Passed, 32,481–12,823[19] |
1968 | This amendment, proposed at the same time as the other 1968 amendment, modified Article IV, Section 13 to allow compensation for the commission on judicial qualifications.[20][17] | Passed, 27,156–17,467[19] |
1970 | Congress lowered the minimum voting age to 18 in 1970, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that law applied only to federal elections.[21] Alaskans responded by approving this amendment, which lowered the voting age from 19 to 18.[22] The amendment foreshadowed ratification of the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution one year later.[23] | Passed, 36,590–31,216[24] |
1970 | The Alaska Constitution originally contained a requirement mandating that voters be able to read and speak English.[25] The federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 forbade literacy tests, and though the state certified that it did not use such tests after the act became law, Alaska did not remove the requirement until this amendment.[22] | Passed, 34,079–32,578[24] |
1970 | Alaska's No. 2 elected official was originally called the Secretary of State. This amendment changed that title to lieutenant governor, which was seen as more prestigious and comparable to similar positions in other states.[26] The amendment inadvertently left out a reference to "Secretary of State" in Article II, Section 5, and that term remains to this day.[27] | Passed, 44,055–19,583[24] |
1970 | Until 1970, the Alaska Supreme Court's chief justice was named by the governor from among the court's members.[28] This amendment requires that the justices themselves vote for chief justice and that the position rotate among the justices. The switch was designed to prevent one justice from accumulating too much power.[29] | Passed, 44,055–19,583[24] |
1970 | The Alaska Court System is administered by an unelected professional; this amendment made the administrator answerable to the entire court, not just the chief justice. As with the other judicial amendment that year, it was intended to keep the chief justice from accumulating power.[30] | Passed, 43,462–18,651[24] |
1972 | The Alaska Constitution originally stated that only people who had lived in Alaska for one calendar year could vote in state and local elections.[22] In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled a similar Tennessee requirement unconstitutional and questioned the need for a residency requirement over 30 days.[31] This amendment reduced the requirement to 30 days. | Passed, 31,130–20,745[32] |
1972 | This amendment, passed in the same year that Alaska ratified the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, banned gender discrimination in the Alaska Constitution.[33][34] | Passed, 43,281–10,278[32] |
1972 | The third amendment approved in 1972 was the addition of a right to privacy, something discussed at the constitutional convention but not included at ratification.[35][36] | Passed, 45,539–7,303[32] |
1972 | The original version of the Constitution required that the boards governing each of Alaska's administrative subdivisions, called boroughs, reserve one seat for each city within the borough.[37] This provision tended to cause conflicts between city and borough interests, leading to its removal.[38][39] | Passed, 30,132–19,354[32] |
1972 | The fifth amendment passed by voters in 1972 allows the state to limit access to fisheries that have been overfished, or to "prevent economic distress." As originally written, the Constitution prohibited exclusive rights or special fishery privileges, and this amendment was needed after the Alaska Supreme Court overturned a state law attempting to limit salmon overfishing.[40] | Passed, 39,837–10,761[32] |
1974 | Example | Example |
1976 | Example | Example |
1976 | Example | Example |
1976 | Example | Example |
1976 | Example | Example |
1976 | Example | Example |
1978 | Example | Example |
1980 | Example | Example |
1980 | Example | Example |
1980 | Example | Example |
1980 | Example | Example |
1982 | Example | Example |
1982 | Example | Example |
1982 | Example | Example |
1984 | Example | Example |
1984 | Example | Example |
1986 | Example | Example |
1986 | Example | Example |
1988 | Example | Example |
1990 | Example | Example |
1994 | Example | Example |
1996 | Example | Example |
1998 | Example | Example |
1998 | Example | Example |
2000 | Example | Example |
2000 | Example | Example |
2000 | Example | Example |
2004 | Example | Example |
2010 | Example | Example |
2016 | Example | Example |
Example | Example | Example |
Notes
[edit]- ^ "Ordinance No. 1 - Ratification of Constitution". Justia Law. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ "Voting Certificate 1956". University of Alaska. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ a b c "Alaska's Constitution, Article XIII". Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ Probst, Cheryl (23 August 1974). "Amendment Proposition Could Have Important Impact On State". The Anchorage Times. No. Vol. 60, No. 198. p. 19.
{{cite news}}
:|issue=
has extra text (help) - ^ Bess v. Ulmer, 985 P.2d 979 (1999).
- ^ "State of Alaska Official Returns by Election Precinct: General Election November 3, 1970" (PDF). Alaska Division of Elections. Alaska Division of Elections. p. 7. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ "Boucher v. Bomhoff", 495 P.2d 77 (1972).
- ^ "State of Alaska Official Returns by Election Precinct: General Election November 7, 1972" (PDF). Alaska Division of Elections. Alaska Division of Elections. p. 8. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ "State of Alaska Official Returns by Election Precinct: General Election November 2, 1982" (PDF). Alaska Division of Elections. p. 40. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ "State of Alaska Official Returns: November 3, 1992 General Election" (PDF). Alaska Division of Elections. p. 4. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ "State of Alaska General Election - November 5, 2002 Official Results". www.elections.alaska.gov. Alaska Division of Elections. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ "State of Alaska 2012 General Election: November 6, 2012 Official Results". www.elections.alaska.gov. Alaska Division of Elections. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ Harrison, pp. 108
- ^ Sims, Ward (17 August 1966). "Voters Due To Face Constitution Change". Anchorage Daily Times. The Associated Press. p. 1.
- ^ "State of Alaska Official Returns by Election Precinct: Primary Election (August 23, 1966)" (PDF). Alaska Division of Elections. p. 38. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ Harrison, pp. 101
- ^ a b "2 Proposed Amendments On Ballot". Anchorage Daily Times. The Associated Press. 26 August 1968. p. 8.
- ^ Harrison, pp. 102
- ^ a b "State of Alaska Official Returns by Election Precinct: Primary Election, August 27, 1968" (PDF). Alaska Division of Elections. p. 33. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ Harrison, pp. 103
- ^ Oregon v. Mitchell, 400 U.S. 112 (1970)
- ^ a b c Harrison, pp. 109
- ^ Nixon, Richard. "Remarks at a Ceremony Marking the Certification of the 26th Amendment to the Constitution". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "State of Alaska Official Returns by Election Precinct - Primary Election August 25, 1970" (PDF). Alaska Division of Elections. p. 34. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ "Almost 90,000 Voters Registered For Elections". Anchorage Daily Times. No. Vol. 56, No. 176. 25 July 1970. p. 3.
{{cite news}}
:|issue=
has extra text (help) - ^ Harrison, pp. 79
- ^ Harrison, pp. 52
- ^ Harrison, pp. 95
- ^ Harrison, pp. 96
- ^ Harrison, pp. 106
- ^ Dunn v. Blumstein, 405 U.S. 330 (1972).
- ^ a b c d e "State of Alaska Official Returns by Election Precinct: Primary Election August 22, 1972" (PDF). Alaska Division of Elections. p. 29. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
- ^ "Sex law takes effect". Anchorage Daily News. No. Vol. XXVI, No. 87. 9 August 1972. p. 28.
{{cite news}}
:|issue=
has extra text (help) - ^ Harrison, pp. 16
- ^ "Is Hopeful of Privacy". Anchorage Daily Times. No. Vol. 58, No. 75. The Associated Press. 29 March 1972. p. 3.
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has extra text (help) - ^ Harrison, pp. 38
- ^ "Amendments Cover Five Subjects". Anchorage Daily Times. No. Vol. 58, No. 192. 15 August 1972. p. 3A.
{{cite news}}
:|issue=
has extra text (help) - ^ Schmidt, Margaret (21 August 1972). "City-Borough Feud Erupting On Proposition". Anchorage Daily Times. No. Vol. 58, No. 197. p. 1.
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:|issue=
has extra text (help) - ^ Harrison, p. 169–170
- ^ Harrison, p. 141–142
References
[edit]- Harrison, Gordon S. Alaska's Constitution: A Citizen's Guide. Alaska Legislative Affairs Agency, 2018. Juneau, Alaska.
Additional Reading
[edit]- Donley, Dave, et al. "Bess v. Ulmer: The Supreme Court Stumbles and the Subsistence Amendment Fails," Alaska Law Review. Vol. 19, pp. 295–338. 2002.
Category:Alaska law Category:State constitutions of the United States