SJR 15: Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska requiring a runoff election when the candidates for governor and lieutenant governor obtaining the greatest number of votes at the general election do not receive more than 50 percent of the votes cast, and changing the term of office of the governor and the lieutenant governor.
00SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 15 01 Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska requiring a 02 runoff election when the candidates for governor and lieutenant governor obtaining 03 the greatest number of votes at the general election do not receive more than 04 50 percent of the votes cast, and changing the term of office of the governor 05 and the lieutenant governor. 06 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 * Section 1. Article III, sec. 3, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 08 SECTION 3. ELECTION. The governor shall be chosen by the qualified 09 voters of the State at a general election. The candidate receiving the greatest number 10 of votes shall be governor but only if the candidate receives more than fifty percent 11 of the total number of votes cast for governor at the general election. If a 12 candidate does not receive more than fifty percent of the votes cast for governor, 13 a runoff election between the two candidates receiving the greatest number of 14 votes cast shall be held thirty-five days after the general election. At the runoff
01 election, write-in ballots shall not be counted. In calculating the percentage of the 02 votes cast at the general election, only votes that have been properly marked for 03 a candidate for governor shall be counted. 04 * Sec. 2. Article III, sec. 4, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: SECTION 4. TERM OF 05 OFFICE. If a runoff election is required to elect 06 a governor, then the [THE] term of office of the governor begins [IS FOUR YEARS, 07 BEGINNING] at noon on the first day of January immediately after the governor's 08 election. Otherwise, the term of office of the governor begins at noon on the first 09 Monday in December following the governor's [HIS] election. The term of the 10 governor ends when the governor's elected successor commences in office on a 11 date determined under this section. Election for governor occurs every four years 12 [AND ENDING AT NOON ON THE FIRST MONDAY IN DECEMBER FOUR 13 YEARS LATER]. 14 * Sec. 3. Article III, sec. 8, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read: 15 SECTION 8. SAME ELECTION. The lieutenant governor shall be nominated 16 in the manner provided by law for nominating candidates for other elective offices. 17 In the general election and in any runoff election the votes cast for a candidate for 18 governor shall be considered as cast also for the candidate for lieutenant governor 19 running jointly with the candidate for governor [HIM]. The candidate whose name 20 appears on the ballot jointly with that of the successful candidate for governor shall 21 be elected lieutenant governor. 22 * Sec. 4. Article XV, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended by adding a new 23 section to read: 24 SECTION 29. TRANSITIONAL PROVISION APPLICABLE TO 25 AMENDMENT OF ARTICLE III, SECTION 4. The term of office of the governor 26 in office at noon on the first Monday in December 1998 ends at that time unless, 27 under Section 3 of Article III, a runoff election is required, in which case the term of 28 office of that governor is extended and ends at noon on the first day of January 1999. 29 * Sec. 5. The amendments proposed by this resolution shall be placed before the voters of 30 the state at the next general election in conformity with art. XIII, sec. 1, Constitution of the 31 State of Alaska, and the election laws of the state.