Voters support RISE bonds, reject ranked choice voting

Ranked choice voting — among the most consequential City and County of Honolulu charter amendment questions before voters — was rejected Tuesday.

If it had passed, ranked choice voting would have gone into effect in 2032, allowing voters to rank up to five candidates in preferred order.

Under the amendment, primary election candidates who receive more than 50% of the first-choice votes would still have won outright. If no one receives more than 50% of the vote, the candidate with the fewest first-choice votes is eliminated and their votes would be redistributed to their second-choice preference. The process would repeat until one candidate receives a majority.

The measure was supported by the Hawaii Democratic Party but opposed by the Hawaii Republican Party.

Voters weighing in on the two statewide constitutional amendments on the ballot overwhelmingly supported bonds for infrastructure development.

Resilient Infrastructure for Shelter and Equity bonds, referred to as RISE bonds, will allow counties to fund public improvements without raising property taxes, with the bonds being paid back through the revenue generated by invested development. The Legislature first passed a bill to allow the bonds in 1985, but the Office of the Attorney General has held that the law could not be implemented without an amendment to the state Constitution.

A bill passed by the Legislature in May proposed the constitutional amendment, with a focus on developing more housing around transit hubs. Hawaii has now joined 48 other states that use the tool, which is known as tax increment financing. The amendment was widely supported by elected officials, including reelected Gov. Josh Green and newly elected Lt. Gov. Derek Kawakami.

Constitutional amendments are particularly difficult to pass and intimately tied to voter participation. Any blank votes are counted as “no” votes.

The other constitutional amendment, which would extend the amount of time the Senate has to act on judicial appointments, was also widely supported by voters.

The 20 Honolulu charter amendment questions covered a variety of issues, including housing affordability, food security funding, immigration enforcement and establishing new government offices.

Voters decided that Honolulu Council members, mayors and prosecuting attorneys who are impeached or resign amid an impeachment petition will not be eligible for reelection for two years. The decision brings impeachment policy in line with policy guiding elected officials removed through recall elections.

Honolulu voters were split on establishing two new government offices and one new commission.

The Office of Data Innovation, which would designate a chief data officer and two data specialist positions tasked with improving data transparency and protecting digital privacy of residents, was widely supported. Meanwhile, the vote count was neck and neck on whether to establish an Office of Oiwi Resources and Cultural Stewardship. If ultimately approved in the final vote count, the office would be housed within the Mayor’s Office and advise the city on Native Hawaiian cultural and natural resources stewardship, similar to the office established by voters in Maui County in 2022.

Among the other city charter questions:

>> An LGBTQIA+ Commission, which would have established a nine-member board to advise the city on issues impacting LGBTQIA+ residents, was rejected by voters.

>> Legal permanent residents who are not U.S. citizens remain ineligible to volunteer on city advisory boards and commissions, voters decided.

>> Voters widely supported establishing a Food Security Fund, which would invest in local food growing and production as well as emergency food supplies. The measure will also increase the share of property taxes allocated to city special funds without raising property taxes themselves. A 10-year housing functional plan, with updates every five years, will also be established to help guide future housing policies, capital improvements and budget decisions, voters decided.

>> The Clean Water and Natural Lands fund, Affordable Housing Fund and Climate Resiliency Fund will be able to receive funding from federal, state, philanthropic and other sources in addition to the existing funds within the city budget. The Clean Water and Natural Lands Fund will also be expanded to include historic preservation of buildings, sites, structures and objects, and renamed the Land, Natural Resources and Historic Preservation Fund, voters decided. Whether the fund will see an increase in appropriations was a tight split, with yes votes slightly ahead, according to preliminary results.

>> Voters overwhelmingly supported an amendment to require the Honolulu Police Department to protect constitutional rights of people regardless of immigration or citizenship status. The agency can also only assist federal immigration enforcement activities when required to do so by statute or court order and after the requesting agency’s identity and authority has been confirmed. Under the previous charter, there were not policies that governed the department’s role in federal immigration enforcement or defined when officers can assist federal immigration agents.

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