General Information on State Constitutions (As of January 1, 2023)

In 2022, Alabama voters approved the Alabama Constitution of 2022, to take effect on Jan. 1, 2023. Also during 2022, in a May election Alabama voters approved 1 statewide amendment, and in a November election voters approved 10 statewide amendments as well as 17 of 19 local amendments on the ballot. Because these amendments were approved simultaneously with the 2022 Constitution, they are not considered to have amended that Constitution.

Eight of the approved amendments have been superseded and are not printed in the current edition of the constitution. The total adopted does not include five amendments proposed and adopted since statehood.

Colonial charters with some alterations served as the first constitutions in Connecticut (1638, 1662) and in Rhode Island (1663).

Proposed amendments are not submitted to the voters in Delaware.

The Georgia constitution currently requires amendments to be of “general and uniform application throughout the state,” thus eliminating local amendments that accounted for most of the amendments before 1982.

As a kingdom and republic, Hawaii had five constitutions.

Two sets of identical amendments were on the ballot and adopted in the 1992 Maryland election. The four amendments are counted as two in the table.

The 1998 and 2000 Nebraska ballots allowed the voters to vote separately on “parts” of propositions. In 1998, 10 of 18 separate propositions were adopted; in 2000, 6 of 9.

The constitution of 1784 was extensively revised in 1792. Figure shows proposals and adoptions since the constitution was adopted in 1784.

The figures do not include submission and approval of the constitution of 1889 itself and of Article XX; these are constitutional questions included in some counts of constitutional amendments and would add two to the figure in each column.

Certain sections of the constitution were revised by the limited convention of 1967-68. Amendments proposed and adopted are since 1968.

Excludes a 2019 amendment that was placed on the ballot but a court enjoined the votes from being counted.

Following approval of eight amendments and a “rewrite” of the Rhode Island Constitution in 1986, the constitution has been called the 1986 Constitution.

In 1981 two-thirds of proposed and four-fifths of adopted amendments were local. Since then amendments have been statewide propositions.

The Constitution of the Republic of Texas preceded five state constitutions.

These totals for territorial constitutions are in some cases taken from 2011 data.

The total excludes one amendment ruled void by a federal district court.