Malcolm Rivera
Voting is one of the most important American freedoms. The ability to have a say in elections has been contested since the founding of the nation. The process of amending the constitution is a complex one, and it varies across different states and countries. Amendments are modifications to a constitution that directly alter the text or are appended as supplemental additions. In the United States, Article Five of the Constitution outlines the procedure for altering it, which involves proposing an amendment and subsequent ratification. This process has been used 27 times to amend the Constitution. In other countries, such as Brazil, the process may differ, as outlined in Article 60 of the Brazilian Constitution. This article will explore the various processes for amending constitutions and the history of voting rights in the United States.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Authority to amend the Constitution | Article V of the Constitution |
| Amendment proposal | By Congress or by a convention called by Congress at the request of two-thirds of state legislatures |
| Congress vote | Two-thirds majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate |
| State convention | Used only once in history, for the Twenty-First Amendment |
| Number of amendments | 27 |
| State-level differences | California: legislative, convention, or voter initiative; New York: legislative or initiative |
| California legislative method | Two-thirds supermajority in each house |
| California convention method | Two-thirds supermajority submits the question of a convention to voters; majority vote decides |
| California voter initiative | Majority of voters |
| New York legislative method | Publish for three months, then approved by an absolute majority of members of each house, in two successive terms with an intervening election |
| New York initiative method | Petition signed by voters equal to 8% of votes for governor candidates in the last gubernatorial election, then submitted to voters at a general or special election |
| Ratification | Three-quarters of the states (38 of 50) |
| Ratification process | Not described in detail in Article V of the Constitution or 1 U.S.C. 106b |
| Administrator of ratification process | Archivist of the United States, who delegates duties to the Director of the Federal Register |
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What You'll Learn
Voting rights and laws
Voting rights in the United States have been governed by federal laws since Article 1 of the Constitution, which gave states the responsibility of overseeing federal elections. Since then, several constitutional amendments and federal laws have been passed to protect and expand voting rights.
The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, granted all male citizens the right to vote regardless of their race, ethnicity, or previous slave status. However, many African American men were unable to exercise this right due to discriminatory practices and laws such as literacy tests, poll taxes, and the activities of the Ku Klux Klan.
The 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, extended the right to vote to women, ensuring that voting rights could not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex.
The 24th Amendment, ratified in 1964, eliminated poll taxes, which had been used in some states to disenfranchise African Americans. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 further prohibited voter discrimination based on race, colour, or membership in a language minority group, requiring certain places to provide election materials in languages other than English.
The 26th Amendment, ratified in 1971, lowered the voting age to 18 for all elections, ensuring that voting rights could not be denied or abridged based on age for citizens eighteen years of age or older.
In addition, the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 authorised federal funding for elections and established the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to help states adopt minimum standards for voter education, registration, and ballots. Most states also require some form of identification before allowing citizens to vote.
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The Fifteenth Amendment
Despite the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment and subsequent legislation, the struggle for voting rights for racial minorities in the United States continued. The Supreme Court's 2013 decision to strike down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 regarding federal oversight of voting rules in certain states highlighted the ongoing challenges to ensuring equal voting rights for all citizens.
Voting is a fundamental right in a democratic society, and it is essential to ensure that all citizens have equal opportunities to exercise this right. The Fifteenth Amendment was a crucial step towards guaranteeing voting rights for African Americans and eliminating racial discrimination in voting. However, it is important to remain vigilant against any attempts to restrict voting access or engage in discriminatory practices that violate the spirit and letter of this Amendment.
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The ratification process
Proposal for Amendment
The process of amending the United States Constitution is outlined in Article V of the Constitution. Amendments can be proposed in two ways:
- Congressional Proposal: A proposed amendment must be approved by a two-thirds supermajority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate of the United States Congress. This is the method that has been used for all 33 amendment proposals submitted to the states for ratification.
- Constitutional Convention: The second method, which has never been used, involves a convention called for by a majority vote of state delegations. This convention must be requested by at least two-thirds of the state legislatures (currently 34 states).
Submission to States for Ratification
Once an amendment is proposed, it is submitted 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. The Archivist officially notifies each state's governor about the proposed amendment.
State Ratification
For an amendment to become part of the Constitution, it must be ratified by at least three-quarters of the states (38 out of 50 states). Each state has the choice to ratify or reject a proposed amendment, and their vote carries equal weight. States may ratify through their state legislatures or through ratifying conventions, depending on what Congress specifies. Once a state ratifies, it sends an original or certified copy of the action to the Archivist, who maintains custody of these documents.
Certification of Ratification
When the required number of state ratifications is reached, the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) drafts a formal proclamation for the Archivist to certify. This certification confirms that the amendment is valid and has become part of the Constitution. The 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.
It is important to note that the ratification process may differ in other countries or organizations with different constitutional frameworks. Additionally, individual states within the United States may have their own unique processes for amending their state constitutions.
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State constitutions
State legislatures generate more than 80% of constitutional amendments considered and approved each year. However, the requirements for state legislatures to craft amendments vary. Some states require amendments to secure the backing of a majority of legislators, while others require supermajority legislative support. There are also differences in whether states require legislative support to be expressed in a single session or two consecutive sessions.
The path to legislative approval of amendments is easiest when amendments are approved by a majority vote in a single session, which is available in 10 states. Twenty-five states set a higher threshold, requiring amendments to be proposed by a supermajority legislative vote in a single session, by a three-fifths vote in 9 states, and a two-thirds vote in 16 states.
In addition to legislative referrals, 18 states allow citizens to initiate constitutional amendments through a citizen-initiative process. These citizen-initiated amendments generally have to be ratified in the same fashion as legislature-referred amendments, by a simple majority of voters in most states and a supermajority in several states. However, Nevada requires citizen-initiated amendments to be approved by a majority of voters in two consecutive elections.
Some states, like Florida, have commissions that have the authority to propose amendments to the state constitution. These commissions, which include the Constitution Revision Commission and the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, convene every 20 years.
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Federal laws
The Civil Rights Act of 1870 created some of the earliest federal protections against discrimination in voting. This was later amended by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibited voter discrimination based on race, colour, or membership in a language minority group. It also required certain places to provide election materials in languages other than English. The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act of 1984 ensured that polling places were accessible to people with disabilities.
The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 authorised federal funding of elections and created the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to help states comply with HAVA's minimum standards on voter education, registration, and ballots.
Constitutional amendments are 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. The President does not have a constitutional role in the amendment process. Once an amendment is ratified by three-quarters of the states (38 out of 50), it becomes part of the Constitution.
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Frequently asked questions
A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization, or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text.
Amendments can be proposed by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or by a convention to propose amendments called by Congress at the request of two-thirds of the state legislatures.
Once an amendment is proposed, it must be ratified by either the legislatures of three-quarters of the states or by ratifying conventions conducted in three-quarters of the states.
There is no fixed time period for the ratification of a constitutional amendment. The Twenty-seventh Amendment, for example, took over 200 years to be ratified.
Examples of constitutional amendments include the Fifteenth Amendment, which prohibits the restriction of male citizens' right to vote based on race, colour, or previous condition of servitude; and the Nineteenth Amendment, which granted all women the right to vote.
