1996 Northern Mariana Islands constitutional referendum

A nineteen-part referendum was held in the Northern Mariana Islands on 2 March 1996. Voters were asked whether they approved of constitutional amendments of each chapter, with a separate vote on each.[1] All amendments were rejected.

Background

A 1993 referendum resulted in a vote in favour of electing a Constitutional Council, which was subsequently elected in March 1995. The Council developed amendments to 19 chapters of the constitution.[1]

The referendum was originally scheduled to be on 4 November 1995 alongside general elections. However, it was later postponed to allow voters more time to familiarise themselves with the amendments.[1]

As well as a majority of votes in favour, each amendment also had to receive at least two-thirds of the vote in favour in two of the three Senate constituencies to be approved.[1]

Results

Only two sets of amendments, to chapters 5 and 15, received a majority of votes in favour.[2][3] However, in both cases the requirement to get a two-thirds majority in two of the three Senate seats was not achieved.[2][3] The amendments to Chapter 15 were the only changes to receive two-thirds support in any Senate constituency.

Question	For		Against		Invalid/ blank	Total	Registered voters	Turnout	Senate seats
	Votes	%	Votes	%					For	Against
Chapter 1	1,698	41.26	2,417	58.74		4,115	10,092		0	3
Chapter 2	1,521	36.56	2,639	63.44		4,160			0	3
Chapter 2, articles 16 and 17	1,560	38.36	2,507	61.64		4,067			0	3
Chapter 3	1,451	37.42	2,427	62.58		3,878			0	3
Chapter 4	1,914	46.28	2,222	53.72		4,136			0	3
Chapter 5	2,136	53.57	1,851	46.43		3,987			0	3
Chapter 6	1,536	37.17	2,596	62.83		4,132			0	3
Chapter 7	1,764	44.92	2,163	55.08		3,927			0	3
Chapter 8	1,603	38.70	2,539	61.30		4,142			0	3
Chapter 9	1,575	38.67	2,498	61.33		4,073			0	3
Chapter 10	1,546	37.67	2,558	62.33		4,104			0	3
Chapter 11	1,581	38.51	2,524	61.49		4,105			0	3
Chapter 12	1,727	41.31	2,454	58.69		4,181			0	3
Chapter 13	1,024	24.66	3,128	75.34		4,152			0	3
Chapter 14	1,760	42.63	2,369	57.37		4,129			0	3
Chapter 15	2,284	56.59	1,752	43.41		4,036			1	2
Chapter 17	1,610	39.37	2,479	60.63		4,089			0	3
Chapter 18	1,439	35.43	2,623	64.57		4,062			0	3
Chapter 19	1,717	42.54	2,319	57.46		4,036			0	3
Source: Direct Democracy

References

1. Northern Mariana Islands, March 2, 1996: Fundamental Rights Direct Democracy (in German)
2. Northern Mariana Islands, 2 March 1996: Representation in the USA Direct Democracy (in German)
3. Northern Mariana Islands, 2 March 1996: Allowing of gambling Direct Democracy (in German)