Simone Lawson
The United States Constitution was written to endure for ages, and amending it is a challenging and time-consuming process. The authority to amend the Constitution of the United States is derived from Article V of the Constitution. Amendments to the Constitution 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. Once proposed, an amendment becomes part of the Constitution when ratified by three-fourths of the states. This can be achieved through state legislatures or state ratifying conventions, with Congress determining the method. The process is overseen by the Archivist of the United States, who administers the ratification process and certifies the validity of an amendment once it has been ratified by the required number of states.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of times the Constitution has been amended | 27 |
| Who proposes an amendment | Congress, with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the states |
| Who administers the ratification process | Archivist of the United States, who heads the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) |
| Number of proposed amendments submitted to states | 33 |
| Number of proposals introduced in Congress but not approved by two-thirds majority | 11,000 |
| Number of states required to ratify an amendment | 38 of 50 (three-fourths) |
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What You'll Learn
Amendments proposed by Congress
The Constitution of the United States has been amended 27 times since it was drafted in 1787. The process of amending the Constitution is outlined in Article V of the Constitution. The process is intentionally difficult and time-consuming.
Congress proposes an amendment in the form of a joint resolution. A proposed amendment must be passed by a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Since the President does not have a constitutional role in the amendment process, the joint resolution does not go to the White House for signature or approval. Instead, the original document is forwarded directly to NARA's 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, copies of the joint resolution in slip law format, and the statutory procedure for ratification under 1 U.S.C. 106b. The Archivist of the United States, who heads the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), is responsible for administering the ratification process. The Archivist submits the proposed amendment to the states for their consideration by sending a letter of notification to each Governor along with the informational material prepared by the OFR.
A proposed amendment becomes part of the Constitution as soon as it is ratified by three-fourths of the States (38 out of 50 States). When 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 and serves as official notice to Congress and the Nation that the amendment process has been completed.
Congress has introduced at least 11,000 proposals to amend the Constitution, but only 33 have been approved by the two-thirds majority in each house required for submission to the states for ratification. Some notable examples of amendments that were successfully proposed by Congress and ratified by the states include the first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, which were adopted four years after the Constitution was drafted, as well as amendments that gave women the right to vote, abolished poll taxes, and lowered the minimum voting age from 21 to 18.
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Ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures
The process of amending the United States Constitution is outlined in Article V of the Constitution. The process is intentionally challenging, as Chief Justice John Marshall wrote in the early 1800s that the Constitution was "to endure for ages to come".
The first step in proposing an amendment is for two-thirds of both Houses of Congress to deem it necessary. Alternatively, two-thirds of the state legislatures can apply to Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments. In either case, an amendment must be proposed by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Once an amendment has been proposed, the Archivist of the United States, who heads the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), is responsible for administering the ratification process. The Archivist has delegated many of the duties associated with this function to the Director of the Federal Register. The Director of the Federal Register prepares an information package for the states, which includes formal "red-line" copies of the joint resolution, copies of the joint resolution in slip law format, and the statutory procedure for ratification.
The proposed amendment is then submitted to the states for their consideration. For an amendment to become part of the Constitution, it must be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures, which currently equates to 38 out of 50 states. This is the most common method of ratification, and it is left to the discretion of Congress to decide which method the states must follow. The other, less common method of ratification is for three-fourths of state ratifying conventions to approve a proposed amendment. This method has only been specified by Congress once, for the Twenty-First Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment establishing Prohibition.
The process of amending the Constitution is deliberately challenging, and it is meant to reflect the necessity of the amendment. The amendment must be of major impact, affecting all Americans or securing the rights of citizens.
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The role of the Archivist of the United States
The Archivist of the United States is the head and chief administrator of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The Archivist is responsible for the supervision and direction of the National Archives, and they are appointed by the President of the United States.
The Archivist has many duties, including the custody of state ratifications of amendments to the Constitution. When an amendment is proposed by Congress in the form of a joint resolution, the original document is sent to the NARA's Office of the Federal Register (OFR) for processing and publication. The OFR then sends an information package to the Archivist, who submits the proposed amendment to the states for their consideration. Once the OFR verifies that it has received authenticated ratification documents from three-quarters of the states (38 out of 50), it drafts a formal proclamation for the Archivist to certify that the amendment is valid and part of the Constitution.
In addition to their role in the amendment process, the Archivist also has duties related to United States presidential elections, such as maintaining custody of Electoral College documents. The Archivist works closely with other professionals, including archives specialists, archives technicians, conservators, and records managers, to preserve and make government records accessible to the public.
The current Archivist of the United States is Dr. Colleen Shogan, who assumed office in May 2023. She is the 11th Archivist and the first woman to hold the position permanently. Shogan previously served as senior vice president of the White House Historical Association and worked for over a decade at the Library of Congress.
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Amendments by constitutional convention
The Constitution of the United States has been amended 27 times since 1787, including the first 10 amendments, which were adopted as the Bill of Rights four years later. The process of amending the Constitution is intentionally difficult and time-consuming. A proposed amendment must be passed by 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 convention for proposing amendments, also known as an Article V Convention, is one of two methods authorized by Article Five of the United States Constitution for proposing amendments. This method has never been used, but it is an alternative to the more commonly used method of a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress.
The process of calling for a constitutional convention begins with the state legislatures. Two-thirds of the state legislatures (34 out of 50) must apply for a convention, at which point Congress is obliged to call for one. The convention can then propose amendments, which become valid and part of the Constitution when ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 out of 50).
While the convention method has never been used to propose amendments, some scholars argue that it could be a way for states to push Congress to propose an amendment on a specific issue. However, there are concerns about the potential unintended consequences of an Article V convention, and the text of the Constitution does not specify whether this convention would be limited to a particular subject or group of subjects.
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The difficulty of amending the Constitution
The United States Constitution was written "to endure for ages to come", as Chief Justice John Marshall wrote in the early 1800s. The framers made sure that amending the document would be a difficult task. The Constitution has been amended only 27 times since it was drafted in 1787, including the first 10 amendments adopted four years later as the Bill of Rights. The amendment process is very difficult and time-consuming. A proposed amendment must be passed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress and then ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 out of 50). This ensures that any changes to the Constitution are widely supported and carefully considered.
The process of amending the Constitution is deliberately designed to be challenging. Firstly, a proposed amendment must be passed by two-thirds of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, a high threshold that requires broad bipartisan support. This step alone has prevented many proposed amendments from advancing, as it requires a significant degree of political consensus.
Secondly, even if a proposed amendment passes in Congress, it must then be ratified by a supermajority of three-fourths of the states. This step ensures that any changes to the Constitution reflect the will of the people in a majority of states and protects the interests of smaller states, as each state has the same influence in the ratification process regardless of its population.
The process of amending the Constitution is a formal and rigorous one, involving multiple steps and requiring broad support at both the federal and state levels. While this process ensures that any changes to the Constitution are carefully considered and widely accepted, it also means that amending the nation's founding document is an infrequent and challenging endeavour.
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Frequently asked questions
Amendments to the constitution can be proposed by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
After Congress proposes an amendment, the Archivist of the United States, who heads the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), is responsible for administering the ratification process.
The proposed amendment is then submitted to the states for their consideration. It becomes part of the Constitution once it is ratified by three-fourths of the states (38 out of 50 states).
