State constitution

From Ballotpedia

A state constitution is the governing document of a U.S. state, comparable to the United States Constitution which is the governing document of the United States. Some states have had multiple constitutions and since each state drafts its own, there is great diversity between them, though all have some basic concepts in common.

The average length of a state constitution is 26,000 words (compared to about 8,700 words for the U.S. constitution). (Dye, 2007) The longest state governing document is that of Alabama, which has over 172,000 words. That document is also the most amended state constitution in the Union, with over 770 amendments. The average state constitution has been amended about 115 times. The oldest state constitution still in effect is that of Massachusetts, which took effect in 1780. The newest is the Georgia Constitution, which was ratified in 1983.

List of state constitutions

Name	Number of constitutions	Year current version adopted
Alabama Constitution	6	1901
Alaska Constitution	1	1959
Arizona Constitution	1	1912
Arkansas Constitution	4	1874
California Constitution	2	1880
Colorado Constitution	1	1876
Connecticut Constitution	2	1965
Delaware Constitution	4	1897
Florida Constitution	5	1969
Georgia Constitution	9	1983
Hawaii Constitution	1	1959
Idaho Constitution	1	1890
Illinois Constitution	4	1971
Indiana Constitution	2	1851
Iowa Constitution	2	1857
Kansas Constitution		1861
Kentucky Constitution	4	1891
Louisiana Constitution	9	1891
Maine Constitution	1	1820
Maryland Constitution	4	1867
Massachusetts Constitution	1	1780
Michigan Constitution	4	1964
Minnesota Constitution	1	1858
Mississippi Constitution	4	1890
Missouri Constitution	4	1945
Montana Constitution	2	1973
Nebraska Constitution	2	1875
Nevada Constitution	1	1864
New Hampshire Constitution	3	1793
New Jersey Constitution	3	1948
New Mexico Constitution	1	1912
New York Constitution	4	1895
North Carolina Constitution	4	1971
North Dakota Constitution	1	1889
Ohio Constitution	2	1951
Oklahoma Constitution	1	1907
Oregon Constitution	1	1859
Pennsylvania Constitution	4	1874
Rhode Island Constitution	2	1843
South Carolina Constitution	6	1896
South Dakota Constitution	1	1889
Tennessee Constitution	3	1870
Texas Constitution	4	1876
Utah Constitution	1	1896
Vermont Constitution	1	1793
Virginia Constitution	7	1971
Washington State Constitution	1	1889
West Virginia Constitution	1	1872
Wisconsin Constitution	1	1848
Wyoming Constitution	1	1890

External links

• The Green Papers: Constitutions of the Several states
• The Green Papers: State constitutions, an explanation
• The Green Papers: Links to state constitutions
• Citings of Religious Influence in First State Constitutions

References

• Hammons, Christopher W. (1999). Was James Madison wrong? Rethinking the American preference for short, framework-oriented constitutions. American Political Science Review. Dec. 1999.
  • The appendices to this article contain substantial data on state constitutions.

	v • d • e Constitutions of the American states
State constitutions	Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming
Changing constitutions	Amending state constitutions • Constitutional amendment • Constitutional revision • Constitutional convention • Legislatively-referred constitutional amendment • Initiated constitutional amendment • Preambles to state constitutions