Simone Lawson
The process of amending the Constitution of the United States is outlined in Article V of the Constitution. Congress can propose an amendment with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Alternatively, Congress can call a convention for proposing amendments at the request of two-thirds of state legislatures. After an amendment is proposed, it is sent to the states for ratification. The Archivist of the United States, who heads the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), is responsible for administering the ratification process. A proposed amendment becomes part of the Constitution once it is ratified by three-quarters of the states.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Authority to amend the Constitution of the United States | Article V of the Constitution |
| Amendment proposal | Congress proposes an amendment with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate |
| Amendment proposal | A constitutional convention called for by Congress at the request of two-thirds of state legislatures |
| Ratification | Ratification by legislatures of three-quarters of the states |
| Ratification | Ratification by ratifying conventions in three-quarters of the states |
| Ratification process administration | Archivist of the United States |
| Ratification process administration | Director of the Federal Register |
| Submission of certified copy of state action | Upon state ratification, the state sends the Archivist an original or certified copy of the state's action |
| Amendment adoption | A proposed amendment becomes part of the Constitution as soon as it is ratified by three-quarters of the states (38 out of 50 states) |
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What You'll Learn
- A two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate is required
- Amendments are proposed in the form of a joint resolution
- The Archivist of the United States administers the ratification process
- The President does not have a constitutional role in the amendment process
- Amendments must be ratified by three-quarters of the states
A two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate is required
Article V of the United States Constitution outlines the procedure for amending the Constitution. One method for proposing amendments is for Congress to achieve a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. This process has been used for all 33 amendments submitted to the states for ratification.
To achieve a two-thirds majority vote, two-thirds of the members present in both the House and the Senate must vote in favour of the amendment. This vote assumes the presence of a quorum, which is the minimum number of members required to be present at a meeting for it to be considered valid. Achieving a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers is a challenging task and requires significant consensus across political parties.
Once an amendment is proposed by Congress, it is forwarded directly to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for processing and publication. The NARA adds legislative history notes to the joint resolution and publishes it in slip law format. An information package is also assembled for the states, including formal copies of the joint resolution and the statutory procedure for ratification.
The proposed amendment is then submitted to the states for their consideration. Each state has the power to ratify or reject the amendment, and their vote carries equal weight, regardless of population or length of time in the Union. For an amendment to become part of the Constitution, it must be ratified by three-quarters of the states (38 out of 50 states). This can be done through the state legislatures or ratifying conventions, although the former has been the more common method.
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Amendments are proposed in the form of a joint resolution
Amendments to the Constitution of the United States are proposed by Congress in the form of a joint resolution. This means that two-thirds of both the House of Representatives and the Senate must vote in favour of the amendment. The joint resolution 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 plays a key role in the process by adding legislative history notes to the joint resolution and publishing it in slip law format. Additionally, they assemble an information package for the States, which includes formal "red-line" copies of the joint resolution, copies in slip law format, and the statutory procedure for ratification under 1 U.S.C. 106b.
The Archivist of the United States, who heads 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.
Once a state ratifies a proposed amendment, it sends the Archivist an original or certified copy of the state's action. The Archivist, upon receiving the necessary number of state ratifications, issues a certificate proclaiming the amendment duly ratified and part of the Constitution. This process serves as official notification to Congress and the nation that the ratification has been completed.
It is important to note that the President does not have a constitutional role in the amendment process, so the joint resolution does not require their signature or approval.
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The Archivist of the United States administers the ratification process
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 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. The Director retains these documents until an amendment is adopted or fails, and then transfers the records to the National Archives for preservation.
When a state ratifies a proposed amendment, it sends the Archivist an original or certified copy of the state's action. Upon receiving the necessary number of state ratifications, the Archivist issues a certificate proclaiming a particular amendment duly ratified and part of the Constitution. The amendment and its certificate of ratification are then published in the Federal Register and United States Statutes at Large. This serves as official notice to Congress and the nation that the ratification process has been successfully completed.
The Archivist and the Director of the Federal Register follow procedures and customs established by the Secretary of State, who performed these duties until 1950, and the Administrator of General Services, who served in this capacity until NARA assumed responsibility in 1985. The Archivist submits the proposed amendment to the states for their consideration by sending a letter of notification to each Governor along with informational material prepared by the OFR.
The length of time between proposal and ratification does not affect the validity of the amendment. Based on this precedent, the Archivist of the United States proclaimed the Twenty-seventh Amendment as having been ratified when it surpassed the "three-fourths of the several states" threshold for becoming part of the Constitution.
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The President does not have a constitutional role in the amendment process
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 NARA, is then 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.
When a state ratifies a proposed amendment, it sends the Archivist an original or certified copy of the state's action. Upon receiving the necessary number of state ratifications, it is the duty of the Archivist to issue a certificate proclaiming a particular amendment duly ratified and 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 ratification process has been successfully completed.
While the President does not have a constitutional role in the amendment process, there have been instances of Presidents playing an informal, ministerial role. For example, President Abraham Lincoln signed the joint resolution proposing the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery, even though his signature was not necessary for the proposal or ratification of the amendment. Additionally, President Johnson signed the certifications for the 24th and 25th Amendments as a witness, and President Nixon witnessed the certification of the 26th Amendment. However, the Supreme Court has articulated the Judicial Branch's understanding that the President has no formal constitutional role in the amendment process.
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Amendments must be ratified by three-quarters of the states
The process of amending the Constitution of the United States is outlined in Article V of the Constitution. After an amendment is proposed, it must be ratified by three-quarters of the states, or 38 out of 50 states, to become part of the Constitution. This process is administered by the Archivist of the United States, who heads the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The Archivist has delegated many of the duties associated with this function to the Director of the Federal Register.
Once an amendment is proposed, the Archivist submits it to the states for their consideration by sending a letter of notification to each Governor, along with informational material prepared by the OFR. The Governors then formally submit the amendment to their State legislatures or call for a convention, depending on what Congress has specified. When a state ratifies a proposed amendment, it sends the Archivist an original or certified copy of the state's action.
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. The OFR retains these documents until an amendment is adopted or fails, after which the records are transferred to the National Archives for preservation.
The vote of each state carries equal weight, regardless of its population or length of time in the Union. There is no specified time limit for ratification, and it is left to the discretion of Congress. In the case of the Twenty-Seventh Amendment, it took over 200 years for the necessary three-quarters of states to ratify the amendment. However, for recent proposed amendments, Congress has specified a ratification period of seven years.
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Frequently asked questions
Congress proposes an amendment in the form of a joint resolution. Two-thirds of both houses of Congress must vote for it, and then three-quarters of the states must ratify the amendment before it is added to the Constitution.
The President does not have a constitutional role in the amendment process, so the joint resolution does not go to the White House for signature or approval.
After Congress proposes an amendment, the Archivist of the United States is responsible for administering the ratification process. The Archivist submits the proposed amendment to the states for their consideration. When a state ratifies a proposed amendment, it sends the Archivist an original or certified copy of the state's action. Upon receiving the necessary number of state ratifications, the Archivist issues a certificate proclaiming the amendment duly ratified and part of the Constitution.
The states must decide whether to ratify the amendment. Three-quarters of the states must ratify the amendment for it to become part of the Constitution.
