American Samoa
American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internationa ...
Constitution of American Samoa The Constitution of American Samoa is the constitution that defines the government of American Samoa. Unlike constitutions of a state, it is subject to unilateral change by the federal government. Constitutional documents of the territory include th ...
which had been approved by a Constitutional convention held from June 21 through July 2, 2010, the 4th such convention. The changes were ultimately rejected by a majority of over 4,000 votes.
Proposed changes
There were a total of 34 or 39 proposed amendments to the Constitution.
At a Constitutional convention in the middle of 2010, the subject of autonomy for American Samoa was discussed, with the issue being raised by the territory's non-voting member in the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
,
Eni Faleomavaega
Eni Fa'aua'a Hunkin Faleomavaega Jr. (; August 15, 1943 – February 22, 2017) was an American Samoan politician and attorney who served as the territory's lieutenant governor (1985-1989) and non-voting delegate to the United States House of Repr ...
. Resulting from this, the proposed Constitution replaced all mentions of "Government of American Samoa" with "American Samoa Government". Additionally, a paragraph in the preamble to the Constitution was proposed to be changed to reflect that American Samoans should "have and enjoy certain rights ... including the right to local self-government". Furthermore, if the changes were accepted, any federal American law seen as being harmful to the economy of the territory or the welfare of American Samoans could be blocked by the Fono.
Other proposed changes to the Constitution included expanding the American Samoa House of Representatives from 20 members (plus one non-voting member from Swains Island) to 25 (plus one), and the
American Samoa Senate
The American Samoa Senate is the upper house of the American Samoa Fono. The Senate, like the lower House of Representatives, is a nonpartisan body. It is composed of 18 senators, serving a four-year term.
History
American Samoa became a Unit ...
from 18 to 22 members.
The power of the Governor of American Samoa's veto would have changed with the introduction of
veto override
A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto po ...
into the Constitution, whereby a bill passed by a two-thirds majority by both houses of the
American Samoa Fono
The American Samoa Fono is the territorial legislature of American Samoa. Like most states and territorial legislatures of the United States, it is a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives and a Senate. The legislature is lo ...
within 14 months of an original veto will become law immediately.''Government of American Samoa'', p. 13 As the referendum failed, any vetoed law re-passed by the Fono still requires further approval by the Governor or the
United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natur ...
. A prior referendum on the issue in 2008 failed by 112 votes, after original results showed a mere 22-vote margin.
The revised draft included a proposal to effect an
order of succession
An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa be vacant.
The new Constitution would have also provided a Samoan language curriculum in the territory's educational system, and introduced a system for
post-secondary education
Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including univers ...
to American Samoa. Additionally, it would have established a Public Utilities and Services Commission for the territory, and mandated the enforcement of immigration laws "in order to protect the Samoan culture, lands and way of life".
Campaigning and controversy
Despite there being between 30 and 40 different proposed changes to the Constitution which had been approved at the Constitutional convention, all the changes were put to the polls together in a single-question referendum. Voters only had the choice to approve all or reject all the proposals, and could not vote on each one individually, resulting in criticism from voters.
Governor
Togiola Tulafono
Togiola Talalelei A. Tulafono (born February 28, 1947) is an American Samoan politician and lawyer who served as the 6th Governor of American Samoa. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He had previously served as lieutenant governor, taking t ...
was accused of presenting it as a single question in the poll because he wanted approval for all the changes, a charge he denied. The decision to put all the changes on the ballot as a single question had been made by the chief elections officer, who claimed it was "the simplest way to put the question to voters."
Limited public campaigning took place on the issue of rejecting the constitutional referendum. In Tualauta County in the Western District, the most heavily populated county in American Samoa, there was reportedly concentrated lobbying against the referendum, which was defeated by 609 votes.
The only other public campaigning occurred in
Utulei
Utulei or Utulei is a village in Maoputasi County, in the Eastern District of Tutuila, the main island of American Samoa. Utulei is traditionally considered to be a section of Fagatogo village, the legislative capital of American Samoa, and is ...
and
Tafuna
Tafuna ( sm, Tāfuna) is a village on the east coast of Tutuila Island, American Samoa. It is home to Pago Pago International Airport (Tafuna Airport). It is one mile south of Nu'uuli, American Samoa. The Ottoville district is a part of Tafuna. Ne ...
, where a number of residents campaigned against the vote with an advertisement which centered around the decision of the chief elections officer to group all the proposed changes together. The advertisement complained that the amendments "should have been separated, item by item and placed individually on the ballot; they weren't".
Voting
The ballot contained the following sole question, printed in both English and Samoan in bold, block letters: "Do you approve the 2010 amendments to the Revised Constitution of American Samoa?" Voters had a choice of voting "yes" or "no".
Official results
Voters rejected the amendments to the Constitution in all 17 electoral districts of American Samoa as well as in the absentee ballot poll.