Simone Lawson
The United States Constitution has been amended only 27 times since it was drafted in 1787, including the first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791. The framers made it difficult to amend the Constitution to ensure its longevity. The authority to amend the Constitution of the United States is derived from Article V of the Constitution. Amendments can be proposed by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State legislatures. A proposed amendment must then be ratified by three-fourths of the States (38 out of 50) to become part of the Constitution.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Authority to amend the Constitution | Article V of the Constitution |
| Amendment proposal | By Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate |
| By a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State legislatures | |
| Amendment ratification | By three-fourths of the States (38 of 50 States) |
| Amendment certification | Formal proclamation by the Archivist of the United States |
| Number of amendments | 27 |
| Difficulty of amendment process | Very difficult and time-consuming |
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What You'll Learn
Amendments proposed by Congress
The authority to amend the US Constitution is derived from Article V of the Constitution. Amendments can be proposed by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. This proposal is made in the form of a joint resolution, which is forwarded directly to the National Archives and Records Administration's (NARA) Office of the Federal Register (OFR) for processing and publication. The OFR adds legislative history notes to the joint resolution and publishes it in slip law format. It also assembles an information package for the states, which includes formal "red-line" copies of the joint resolution and copies of the joint resolution in slip law format.
Once an amendment is proposed by Congress, it is sent to the states for ratification. The decision on which ratification method will be used is made by Congress alone. An amendment can be ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths (38) of the states or by state ratifying conventions in three-fourths (38) of the states. When a state ratifies a proposed amendment, it sends the Archivist an original or certified copy of the state action, which is immediately conveyed to the Director of the Federal Register. The OFR examines ratification documents for facial legal sufficiency and an authenticating signature. If the documents are in order, the Director acknowledges receipt and maintains custody of them.
In the past, some state legislatures have not waited to receive official notice before taking action on a proposed amendment. Additionally, states have occasionally sent official documents to NARA to record the rejection of an amendment or the rescission of a prior ratification. Once the OFR verifies that it has received the required number of authenticated ratification documents, it drafts a formal proclamation for the Archivist to certify that the amendment is valid and has become part of the Constitution. This certification is published in the Federal Register and U.S. Statutes at Large, serving as official notice that the amendment process is complete.
Since 1789, Congress has sent 33 constitutional amendments to the states for ratification, of which 27 have been ratified. The process of amending the Constitution is intentionally difficult, as the framers of the Constitution wanted to ensure its longevity. As a result, the number of proposed amendments that have been ratified is relatively low compared to the total number of proposed amendments, which exceeds 11,000.
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Amendments proposed by a Constitutional Convention
The Constitution of the United States was written to endure for ages, and amending it is a difficult and time-consuming process. The Constitution has been amended only 27 times since it was drafted in 1787, and none of these amendments have been proposed by constitutional convention.
A convention to propose amendments to the Constitution, also referred to as an Article V Convention, is one of two methods authorized by Article Five of the Constitution for proposing amendments. The other method is a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress, which has been used 33 times to propose amendments.
A convention for proposing amendments can be called by Congress upon the request of two-thirds of the state legislatures (34 of the 50 states). This method of proposing amendments has never been used, and there are debates among scholars about how it would work in practice. Some scholars argue that states can determine the scope of an Article V convention by applying for a convention on a specific subject or group of subjects. Others argue that the text of the Constitution provides only for a general convention, not limited in scope to a particular matter.
Once a convention is called, it can propose amendments that become law only after ratification by three-fourths of the states (38 of the 50 states). This is the same number of states required to ratify amendments proposed by Congress. In this way, the Constitution guards against both "extreme facility which would render the Constitution too mutable" and "extreme difficulty which might perpetuate its discovered faults."
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State legislatures' role
The United States Constitution was crafted to endure, and amending it is a challenging and time-consuming process. The Constitution has been amended only 27 times since 1787, and all amendments have been proposed by Congress.
State legislatures play a crucial role in the amendment process and have multiple paths to initiate amendments. Legislatures can propose amendments by achieving a two-thirds majority vote to call for a constitutional convention. This has never happened, but the idea has its supporters. Once an amendment is proposed, either by Congress or a convention, it must be ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states (38 out of 50) to become part of the Constitution.
State legislatures are responsible for generating more than 80% of constitutional amendments considered and approved annually. The legislatures differ in their requirements for crafting amendments, with some requiring a simple majority and others a supermajority. Some also require legislative support to be expressed in a single session, while others allow for two consecutive sessions. The easiest route to legislative approval is a majority vote in a single session, which is possible in 10 states.
States also offer alternative paths for amending their constitutions, which are much easier than amending the federal Constitution. State constitutions are regularly amended, with some states, like Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas, amending their constitutions three to four times per year on average. Four states—Hawaii, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Wyoming—require amendments to be approved by a majority of voters in the entire election. Seventeen states also allow for citizen-initiative processes to enact amendments.
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The ratification process
The authority to amend the Constitution of the United States is derived from Article V of the Constitution. The process of amending the Constitution is intentionally difficult and time-consuming. Since the Constitution was drafted in 1787, there have been only 27 amendments, including the first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights.
Amendments can be proposed by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Congress proposes an amendment in the form of a joint resolution, which is then forwarded directly to the National Archives and Records Administration's (NARA) Office of the Federal Register (OFR) for processing and publication. The OFR adds legislative history notes to the joint resolution and publishes it in slip law format. The OFR also assembles an information package for the states, which includes formal "red-line" copies of the joint resolution and copies of the joint resolution in slip law format.
Alternatively, two-thirds of state legislatures can request that Congress call a constitutional convention to propose amendments. However, this has never happened. Once an amendment is proposed, either by Congress or a constitutional convention, it must be ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 out of 50 states) to become part of the Constitution.
Once the OFR verifies that it has received the required number of authenticated ratification documents, it drafts a formal proclamation for the Archivist to certify that the amendment is valid and has become part of the Constitution. This certification is published in the Federal Register and U.S. Statutes at Large, serving as official notice to Congress and the nation that the amendment process is complete. While the Archivist does not make substantive determinations on the validity of state ratification actions, their certification of the facial legal sufficiency of ratification documents is final and conclusive. In recent times, the signing of the certification has become a ceremonial function attended by various dignitaries, sometimes including the President.
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The Archivist's role
The Archivist of the United States, who heads the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), is responsible for administering the ratification process when an amendment to the Constitution is proposed by Congress. The Archivist has delegated many of the duties associated with this function to the Director of the Federal Register.
When a State ratifies a proposed amendment, it sends the Archivist an original or certified copy of the State action. The Archivist then conveys this to the Director of the Federal Register for examination and custody. The Director verifies the facial legal sufficiency and authenticity of the ratification documents. If the documents are in order, the Director acknowledges receipt and maintains custody until the amendment is adopted or fails.
Once the OFR verifies that it has received the required number of authenticated ratification documents, the Archivist's role is to certify that the amendment is valid and has become part of the Constitution. This certification is a formal proclamation published in the Federal Register and U.S. Statutes at Large, serving as official notice to Congress and the nation that the amendment process is complete. The Archivist's certification of the facial legal sufficiency of ratification documents is final and conclusive, and the signing of this certification has become a ceremonial function attended by dignitaries.
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Frequently asked questions
Amendments can be proposed by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of state legislatures. Congress has used this procedure to propose 33 amendments, 27 of which have been ratified.
Once an amendment is proposed, it must be ratified by three-fourths of state legislatures (38 out of 50 states). The Archivist of the United States administers the ratification process, which involves receiving and examining ratification documents for authenticity and legal sufficiency. Once ratified, the amendment becomes part of the Constitution.
The process of amending the US Constitution is deliberately difficult and time-consuming. The framers intended for the Constitution to endure for ages, so they made it challenging to amend. As a result, there have only been 27 amendments since the Constitution was drafted in 1787, and state constitutions are amended much more frequently.
