A constitutional referendum was held in
American Samoa
American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...
on November 2, 2010, on the same day of the
United States House of Representatives election and
American Samoan general election.
Voters voted on amendments to the
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 t ...
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 is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
,
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 third lieutenant governor, from 1985 to 1989 and non-voting delegate to the United State ...
. 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
The American Samoa House of Representatives is the lower house of the American Samoa Fono. The House consists of 21 members serving two-year terms, with 20 popularly elected representatives, and one delegate from Swains Island elected in a publ ...
from 20 members (plus one non-voting member from
Swains Island
Swain, Swains or Swain's may refer to:
Places
* Swain Islands, Antarctica
* Swain's Island (Newfoundland and Labrador), Canada
* Swains Island, an atoll in the Tokelau chain, American Samoa
* Swain County, North Carolina, United States
* Swa ...
) 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.
The first name for the upper house of ...
from 18 to 22 members.
The power of the
Governor of American Samoa
This is a list of Governor (United States), governors, etc. of the part of the Samoan Islands (now comprising American Samoa) under United States administration since 1900.
From 1900 to 1978 governors were appointed by the Federal government o ...
'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 ...
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 located ...
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 natura ...
.
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, line 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
The government of American Samoa consists of a locally elected governor, lieutenant governor and the American Samoa Fono, which consists of an 18-member Senate and a 21-member House of Representatives. The first popular election for Governor an ...]
be vacant.
The new Constitution would have also provided a
Samoan language
Samoan ( or , ) is a Polynesian languages, Polynesian language spoken by Samoans of the Samoan Islands. Administratively, the islands are split between the sovereign country of Samoa and the Unincorporated territories of the United States, Unit ...
curriculum in the territory's educational system, and introduced a system for
post-secondary education
Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education.
The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational school ...
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".
Electoral system
Despite there being between 30 and 40 different proposed changes to the constitution approved at the constitutional convention all changes were put to a public vote 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 sixth governor of American Samoa. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He had previously served as the seventh lieutenant gove ...
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."
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".
Campaign
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, American Samoa, Maoputasi County, in the Eastern District, American Samoa, Eastern District of Tutuila, the main island of American Samoa. Utulei is traditionally considered to be a section of Fag ...
and
Tafuna
Tafuna () is a village in Tualauta County, Western District, American Samoa. It is the most populous village in American Samoa, with a population of 7,988 according to the 2020 U.S. census.
Tafuna is the principal area for the development of hou ...
, 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."
Results
Voters rejected the amendments to the Constitution in all 17
electoral district
An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
s of American Samoa as well as in the
absentee ballot
Absentee or The Absentee may refer to:
* Absentee (band), a British band
* The Absentee, a novel by Maria Edgeworth, published in 1812 in ''Tales of Fashionable Life''
* ''The Absentee'' (1915 film), a 1915 American silent film directed by Christy ...
poll.
References
External links
*
{{American Samoan elections
Constitutional
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed.
When these princ ...
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, p ...
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, p ...
Constitutional amendments
Constitutional
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed.
When these princ ...
Constitutional referendums in American Samoa
Election and referendum articles with incomplete results