State Constitutions

Table 1.3
General Information on State Constitutions (As of January 1, 2022)

  Number of amendments
State or other jurisdiction Number of constitutions* Dates of adoption Effective date of present constitution Estimated length (number of words)** Submitted to voters Adopted
Alabama61819, 1861, 1865, 1868, 1875, 1901Nov. 28, 1901402,8521316 (a)977 (a)
Alaska11956Jan. 3, 195913,4794329
Arizona11911Feb. 14, 191247,306280156
Arkansas51836, 1861, 1864, 1868, 1874Oct. 30, 187477,663211110 (b)
California21849, 1879July 4, 187976,930914540
Colorado11876Aug. 1, 187684,239360167
Connecticut2 (c)1818, 1965Dec. 30, 196516,5443533
Delaware41776, 1792, 1831, 1897June 10, 189725,445(d)152
Florida61839, 1861, 1865, 1868, 1886, 1968Jan. 7, 196948,440191141
Georgia101777, 1789, 1798, 1861, 1865, 1868, 1877, 1945, 1976, 1982July 1,198341,684109 (e)85 (e)
Hawaii1 (f)1950Aug. 21, 195921,498140114
Idaho11889July 3, 189024,626215127
Illinois41818, 1848, 1870, 1970July 1, 197116,4012315
Indiana21816, 1851Nov. 1, 185111,6108149
Iowa21846, 1857Sept. 3, 185711,0895954
Kansas11859Jan. 29, 186114,09712999
Kentucky41792, 1799, 1850, 1891Sept. 28, 189127,2347843
Louisiana111812, 1845, 1852, 1861, 1864, 1868, 1879, 1898, 1913, 1921, 1974Jan. 1, 197576,730297204
Maine11819March 15, 182016,313208175
Maryland41776, 1851, 1864, 1867Oct. 5, 186743,198270234 (g)
Massachusetts11780Oct. 25, 178045,283148120
Michigan41835, 1850, 1908, 1963Jan. 1, 196431,1647834
Minnesota11857May 11, 185812,016218121
Mississippi41817, 1832, 1869, 1890Nov. 1, 189026,229165127
Missouri41820, 1865, 1875, 1945March 30,194585,673196128
Montana21889, 1972July 1, 197312,7906135
Nebraska21866, 1875Oct. 12, 187534,934357 (h)233 (h)
Nevada11864Oct. 31, 186431,915243144
New Hampshire21776, 1784June 2, 178413,238291 (i)147
New Jersey31776, 1844, 1947Jan. 1, 194828,0719477
New Mexico11911Jan. 6, 191233,198308174
New York41777, 1822, 1846, 1894Jan. 1, 189549,360310231
North Carolina31776, 1868, 1970July 1, 197117,1775141
North Dakota11889Nov. 2, 188918,746284161 (j)
Ohio21802, 1851Sept. 1, 185159,858294177
Oklahoma11907Nov. 16, 190784,956376200
Oregon11857Feb. 14, 185949,430506259
Pennsylvania51776, 1790, 1838, 1873, 1968 (k)1968 (k)26,07842 (k) (l)36 (k)
Rhode Island2 (c)1842, 1986 (m)Dec. 4, 198611,40715 (m)13 (m)
South Carolina71776, 1778, 1790, 1861, 1865, 1868, 1895Jan. 1, 189627,421690 (n)500 (n)
South Dakota11889Nov. 2, 188928,840245124
Tennessee31796, 1835, 1870Feb. 23, 187013,9606643
Texas5 (o)1845, 1861, 1866, 1869, 1876Feb. 15, 187692,345694515
Utah11895Jan. 4, 189621,010185129
Vermont31777, 1786, 1793July 9, 17938,56521254
Virginia61776, 1830, 1851, 1869, 1902, 1970July 1, 197124,0096254
Washington11889Nov. 11, 188932,578183108
West Virginia21863, 1872April 9, 187233,32412675
Wisconsin11848May 29, 184815,102198148
Wyoming11889July 10, 189026,349131101
American Samoa21960, 1967July 1, 19676,00015 (p)7 (p)
CNMI***11977Jan. 9, 197813,70060 (p)56 (p) (q)
Puerto Rico11952July 25, 19529,4008 (p)6 (p)
Source: John Dinan and The Council of State Governments, with research assistance from Wake Forest students Bradley Harper and Alec Papovich.
Footnotes:
* The constitutions referred to in this table include those Civil War documents customarily listed by the individual states.
** In calculating word counts, supplemental information regarding dates of adoption and other material not formally a part of the constitution are generally excluded.
*** Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands
(a) The Alabama constitution includes numerous local amendments that apply to only one county. An estimated 70 percent of all amendments are local.
(b) 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.
(c) Colonial charters with some alterations served as the first constitutions in Connecticut (1638, 1662) and in Rhode Island (1663).
(d) Proposed amendments are not submitted to the voters in Delaware.
(e) The Georgia currently constitution 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.
(f) As a kingdom and republic, Hawaii had five constitutions.
(g) 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.
(h) 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.
(i) The constitution of 1784 was extensively revised in 1792. Figure shows proposals and adoptions since the constitution was adopted in 1784.
(j) 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.
(k) Certain sections of the constitution were revised by the limited convention of 1967-68. Amendments proposed and adopted are since 1968.
(l) Excludes a 2019 amendment that was placed on the ballot but a court enjoined the votes from being counted.
(m) Following approval of eight amendments and a "rewrite" of the Rhode Island Constitution in 1986, the constitution has been called the 1986 Constitution.
(n) In 1981 two-thirds of proposed and four-fifths of adopted amendments were local. Since then amendments have been statewide propositions.
(o) The Constitution of the Republic of Texas preceded five state constitutions.
(p) These totals for territorial constitutions are in some cases taken from 2011 data.
(q) The total excludes one amendment ruled void by a federal district court.