If you just received your ballot in the mail, you may be feeling overwhelmed.

Depending on where you live, there are not just state constitutional amendments on the ballot, but county charter amendments from appointed commissions – which only happen every 10 years. To figure these out, you’ve landed in a great starting place. Below, find the amendments on your ballot plus Civil Beat reporting, when available.

Of course, all this and much, much more is available on our 2026 virtual ballot, where you can follow the links to read about candidates who responded to Civil Beat’s question-and-answer survey. The virtual ballot is our signature resource from our elections voter guide, which can show you how to track your ballot, find campaign finance records, scan through our recent reporting and more.

Hawaiʻi Constitutional Amendments

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT QUESTION No. 1: Shall the Constitution of the State of Hawaii be amended to allow the Senate more time to consider and act on the appointments of justices and judges, by increasing the timeframe from thirty days to sixty days for appointments made between April 1 and December 31 when the senate is not in regular session or is about to adjourn the regular session.

Important: If you leave your ballot blank on this measure, it counts as a “no” vote. Read Civil Beat Coverage: Why Blank Votes Count As No Votes For Hawaii Statewide Ballot Measures

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT QUESTION No. 2: Shall the Hawaii State Constitution be amended to direct the legislature to authorize the counties to issue resilient infrastructure for shelter and equity bonds to fund public improvements in designated districts, repaid solely by future growth in property tax revenues within those districts, not by increasing real property tax rates, where such bonds are excluded from the counties’ debt limit and are subject to accountability and oversight requirements as may be provided by law?

Important: If you leave your ballot blank on this measure, it counts as a “no” vote.

City and County Of Honolulu Charter Amendments

CHARTER QUESTION No. 1: Should the Charter require annual funding for a Food Security Fund, without having to simultaneously increase real property tax rates to fund the appropriation, to support programs and grants that provide locally grown or produced food to Oahu residents, as well as non-local food only in an emergency?

CHARTER QUESTION No. 2: Should the Charter be amended to replace its preamble with language recognizing the relationship between the people of the City and County of Honolulu and the ʻāina, honoring the wisdom of kūpuna and the legacy of Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole, and affirming commitments to transparent, accountable government and stewardship of natural, civic, and cultural resources?

CHARTER QUESTION No. 3: Should an Office of ʻŌiwi Resources and Cultural Stewardship be established within the Office of the Mayor to oversee the management of ʻŌiwi resources within the City, develop related programs, and create a Cultural Advisory Council of kūpuna, cultural practitioners, and community representatives?

CHARTER QUESTION No. 4: Should a nine-member LGBTQIA+ Commission be established to advise the Mayor, City Council, and City agencies on matters affecting the LGBTQIA+ community and recommend policies, programs, and legislation promoting social, economic, and political equality?

CHARTER QUESTION No. 5: Beginning in 2032, should the City use ranked-choice voting to elect the Mayor, City Council, and Prosecuting Attorney, allowing voters to rank candidates in the order they prefer (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.) in a single November election?

CHARTER QUESTION No. 6: Should the Charter be amended to require the Honolulu Police Department to 1) adopt policies to ensure the constitutional rights of all persons regardless of immigration or citizenship status are protected, and 2) assist federal immigration enforcement activities only when required by statute or court order, and after the requesting agency’s identity and authority have been confirmed?

CHARTER QUESTION No. 7: Shall the Revised Charter of the City and County of Honolulu be amended to encourage increasing housing availability and preserving available housing as policies for the City and County of Honolulu?

CHARTER QUESTION No. 8: Should the Charter be amended to clarify that the Affordable Housing Fund is a revolving fund, with repayments, interest, earnings, proceeds, and other receipts derived from the Fund to be redeposited into the Fund?

CHARTER QUESTION No. 9: Should the Charter be amended to no longer require a second public hearing for any transaction related to City real property interests?

CHARTER QUESTION No. 10: Should the City be required to prepare and carry out a functional plan for the development of affordable housing?

CHARTER QUESTION No. 11: Should the Charter be amended to allow the Clean Water and Natural Lands Fund and the Climate Resiliency Fund to award grants to federal income tax-exempt non-profit organizations that provide services that are consistent with each Fund’s purpose?

CHARTER QUESTION No. 12: Should the Revised City Charter be amended to allow the Clean Water and Natural Lands Fund, Affordable Housing Fund, Climate Resiliency Fund, and other funds established under Section 9-204 to receive funding from federal, state, philanthropic, and other sources?

CHARTER QUESTION No. 13: Should the Charter be amended to allow the Clean Water and Natural Lands Fund to be used for historic preservation, and to preserve and protect buildings, sites, structures, and objects that have been acquired by the fund; to rename the Fund the Land, Natural Resources, and Historic Preservation Fund, and the advisory commission for the Fund the Land, Natural Resources, and Historic Preservation advisory commission; and to allocate proposal review for Fund use between the advisory commission and the Oʻahu Historic Preservation Commission

CHARTER QUESTION No. 14: Should the Charter be amended to increase the annual appropriation for costs related to operation, maintenance, and management of lands that were acquired using the Clean Water and Natural Lands Fund, from 5% of the moneys that were deposited into the Fund in the previous year, to 10%?

CHARTER QUESTION No. 15: Should an Office of Data and Innovation be established to use data to improve city services, promote government transparency and civic engagement, ensure that the city uses artificial intelligence responsibly, and protect residents’ digital privacy?

CHARTER QUESTION No. 16: Should permanent resident aliens who are residents of the City and County of Honolulu be permitted to serve on City boards and commissions?

CHARTER QUESTION No. 17: Should quorum and board action be based on the majority of members eligible to vote, excluding vacancies and non-voting members?

CHARTER QUESTION No. 18: Should the First Deputy of the Department of Human Resources be exempt from civil service provisions, like similar roles in other City departments?

CHARTER QUESTION No. 19: Should the City Clerk be required to provide technical and secretarial services to the Charter Commission?

CHARTER QUESTION No. 20: Should the Charter make a Councilmember, the Mayor, or the Prosecuting Attorney ineligible for election to any City office for two years if impeached, or if the official resigns after an impeachment petition has been filed, consistent with the provision for being recalled from office?

Hawaiʻi County Charter Amendment

CHARTER QUESTION No. 1: Shall the Hawaiʻi County Charter be amended to allow the County Auditor to hire a deputy and exercise the same power, with respect to the employees within the Auditor’s office, as the department heads in the executive branch?

Maui County Charter Amendments

CHARTER QUESTION No. 1: Shall the Charter be amended, effective January 2, 2027, to provide clarity and consistency in deadlines for planning commission review of revisions to the general plan, zoning ordinances, and other land use ordinances proposed by the council, and transmittal of related findings and recommendations to the council?

CHARTER QUESTION No. 2: Shall the Charter be amended, effective January 1, 2027, to standardize the deadlines related to the clerk’s processing of petitions related to voter initiative, recall of elected officers or board or commission members, and charter amendments?

CHARTER QUESTION No. 3: Shall the Charter be amended, effective January 1, 2027, to establish a formula for computing Charter deadlines that excludes weekends and holidays?

CHARTER QUESTION No. 4: Shall the Charter be amended, effective January 1, 2028 to streamline the process for filing claims for personal injury or property damage by requiring that claims are filed directly with the Director of Finance or as provided by ordinance?

CHARTER QUESTION No. 5: Shall the Charter be amended, effective upon passage, by removing the English translation of the Hawaiʻi State motto in the Maui County Charter Preamble, allowing the original phrase, “Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono,” to stand on its own?

CHARTER QUESTION No. 6: Shall the Charter be amended, effective January 2, 2027, to allow the Mayor, with approval from the Council, to pass an emergency appropriation for an application for a line of credit and clarify that the one percent limitation for emergency appropriations does not apply to funds that have already been allocated to an emergency fund?

CHARTER QUESTION No. 7: Shall the Charter be amended, effective immediately, to repeal the parts of the 2022 Charter amendment that created the Independent Nomination Board and related procedures for nominations for various County officers? Read Civil Beat coverage: Maui County Boards Ground To A Halt. Voters Could Change That.

CHARTER QUESTION No. 8: Shall the Charter be amended, effective upon approval, to authorize the Mayor to reappoint members of the Board of Ethics of the County of Maui, with the approval of the Council, for one successive term without an intervening waiting period?

Kauaʻi County Charter Amendment

CHARTER QUESTION No. 1: Shall the Kaua’i County Charter be amended to expedite and clarify the Planning Commission’s appeals process by removing all references to a Zoning Board of Appeals?