Hawaii Voters Approve RISE Infrastructure Bonds but Reject Ranked Choice Voting

Tuesday night delivered a split verdict for Hawaii: voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to unlock powerful infrastructure financing tools, but soundly rejected a proposal to overhaul how Honolulu elects its leaders.

The contrast could hardly be sharper. While voters strongly supported the Resilient Infrastructure for Shelter and Equity bonds—known as RISE bonds—56% of Honolulu voters turned down ranked choice voting, a system that would have allowed residents to rank up to five candidates in order of preference starting in 2032.

RISE Bonds Unlock Tax Increment Financing for Transit Housing

The constitutional amendment allows counties to use tax increment financing—a tool already employed in 48 other states—to fund public improvements without raising property taxes. Instead, the bonds are paid back through the revenue generated by the invested development itself.

ConAm questions: Picking Hawaii judges and RISE bonds

This wasn’t a new idea. The Legislature first passed a bill allowing these bonds back in 1985, but the Office of the Attorney General held that the law could not be implemented without a constitutional amendment. That barrier fell Tuesday when voters approved the measure, which the Legislature had proposed in May with a specific focus on developing more housing around transit hubs.

Constitutional amendments in Hawaii are particularly difficult to pass and intimately tied to voter participation, with any blank votes counted as “no” votes. A second statewide amendment, which voters also backed broadly, would give the Senate more time to act on judicial appointments when it is out of session or nearing adjournment from a regular session.

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Honolulu Rejects Ranked Choice Voting by 56 Percent

Yahoo reported that ranked choice voting—among the most consequential of the 20 Honolulu charter amendments on the ballot—was rejected by 56% of voters. Had it passed, the system would have taken effect in 2032, allowing Honolulu voters to rank up to five candidates in the order they prefer.

Under the proposed system, primary election candidates who receive more than 50% of the first-choice votes would still win outright. Should no candidate secure over 50% of the vote, the contender with the lowest number of first-choice votes would be removed, with those ballots reassigned according to voters’ second-choice selections. 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.

Why I’m Voting YES on Hawaii Question 2 (RISE Bonds Explained)

Honolulu Charter Amendments Draw Mixed Support

The 20 charter amendments covered everything from housing affordability to food security and immigration enforcement, and voters split on several key measures. But the vote on creating an office to advise the city on Native Hawaiian cultural and natural resources stewardship—similar to the office established by Maui County voters in 2022—was not yet final.

Voters rejected an LGBTQIA+ Commission that would have established a nine-member board to advise the city on issues affecting LGBTQIA+ residents. They likewise determined that legal permanent residents lacking U.S. citizenship would continue to be barred from serving as volunteers on city advisory boards and commissions.

On public safety and civil rights, voters overwhelmingly supported an amendment requiring the Honolulu Police Department to protect constitutional rights of people regardless of immigration or citizenship status. The agency can only assist federal immigration enforcement activities when required by statute or court order and after the requesting agency’s identity and authority have been confirmed. Under the previous charter, there were no policies governing the department’s role in federal immigration enforcement or defining when officers can assist federal immigration agents.

Voters also backed establishing a Food Security Fund, which would invest in local food growing and production as well as emergency food supplies, increasing 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 guide future housing policies, capital improvements, and budget decisions.

Other approved measures included a two-year reelection ban for Honolulu councilmembers, mayors, and prosecuting attorneys who are impeached or resign amid an impeachment petition, bringing impeachment policy in line with the policy guiding elected officials removed through recall elections. Voters also expanded the Clean Water and Natural Lands Fund to include historic preservation of buildings, sites, structures, and objects, renaming it the Land, Natural Resources and Historic Preservation Fund, and allowed the Clean Water and Natural Lands Fund, Affordable Housing Fund, and Climate Resiliency Fund to receive funding from federal, state, philanthropic, and other sources. Whether that fund will see an increase in appropriations remained a tight split, with yes votes slightly ahead in preliminary results.

A State Ready to Build but Not to Experiment

With RISE bonds now constitutionally authorized, counties can begin leveraging tax increment financing to build housing around transit hubs—a move supporters hope will ease Hawaii’s housing crisis without burdening property taxpayers. Meanwhile, the rejection of ranked choice voting means Honolulu will stick with its current election system for at least another cycle, leaving the debate over electoral reform to future ballots.