Article V - Amendments
U.S. Constitution Article V
Method of Constitutional Amendment
Article V
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments,
which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress;
Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.
There are actually four ways to amend the U.S. Constitution.
Note that there are two types of conventions. One is a single national Constitutional Convention called by Congress, but proposed by the states. This is sometimes referred to as an Amendment Convention. The first constitutional convention was held in 1787, and there hasn’t been one since. In fact, since the first constitutional convention actually created the Constitution, there has not been a constitutional convention based on Article V.
The second is a ratifying convention, one for each state that ratifies proposed amendments.
It has always been unclear as to whether states can be specific when calling for a constitutional convention. That is, can the states limit the convention to specific amendments.
It should be noted that the first and only constitutional convention in 1787 went well beyond its starting point of the Articles of Confederation, and made radical changes. Using that 1787 convention as precedence, the constitutional convention could go in any direction it chose. Regardless, states still retain the last word on the amendment process via their ratification step.
It is also unclear as to how delegates are chosen for a constitutional convention. The first constitutional convention in 1787 had delegates chosen by the states. This will likely be the precedence for a second constitutional convention. Still, how do the states’ choose their delegates? It could be a popular vote or choices by the state legislature. This same issue of how delegates are chosen affects a state ratifying convention as well.
↑ TOP
