Omar Bennett
The process of amending the United States Constitution is outlined in Article V of the Constitution. The process is intentionally difficult, requiring a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and the Senate, or a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures. Amendments must then be ratified by three-fourths of state legislatures or ratifying conventions in three-fourths of states. Citizen-initiated amendments are possible in seventeen states, and some states require amendments to be approved by a majority of voters. The process is rarely invoked, and no amendment has been proposed by constitutional convention.
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What You'll Learn
Two-thirds majority in Congress
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 it difficult to amend the Constitution, and this is evident in the challenges faced by supporters of congressional term limits and a balanced budget amendment in their pursuit of new amendments.
Article V of the Constitution outlines the process for proposing and ratifying amendments. The first step in this process is for Congress to propose an amendment with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. This is a challenging threshold to reach, requiring significant support for the proposed amendment among members of Congress.
The two-thirds majority vote in each house means that two-thirds of the members present during the vote must approve the amendment. This assumes the presence of a quorum, which is the minimum number of members required to be present for the vote to be valid. It is important to note that this is not a simple majority but a supermajority, emphasizing the deliberate difficulty of amending the Constitution.
Once an amendment is proposed by Congress with the required two-thirds majority, the process moves to the ratification stage. 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 process to the Director of the Federal Register.
The proposed amendment is then submitted to the states for their consideration. The amendment must be ratified by either three-fourths of the state legislatures or by ratifying conventions in three-fourths of the states, depending on the mode of ratification determined by Congress. This step ensures that a substantial majority of states approve the amendment before it can become part of the Constitution.
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Ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures
The process of amending the Constitution of the United States is a difficult and time-consuming task. The authority to amend the Constitution is derived from Article V of the Constitution. After an amendment is proposed by Congress, it is the responsibility of the Archivist of the United States, who heads the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), to administer 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 informational material. The Governors then formally submit the amendment to their State legislatures or call for a convention, depending on what Congress has specified.
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 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 Director acknowledges receipt and maintains custody of the documents until an amendment is adopted or fails.
The vote of each state (to either ratify or reject a proposed amendment) carries equal weight, regardless of a state's population or length of time in the Union. This process ensures that any changes made to the Constitution are carefully considered and widely accepted by the States.
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Citizen-initiative processes
The citizen-initiative process for constitutional amendments can be either direct or indirect. Direct citizen initiatives are placed on the ballot without the involvement of the state legislature, provided they meet certain qualifications, such as signature gathering requirements, subject matter restrictions, and various deadlines. Indirect citizen initiatives, on the other hand, are submitted to the state legislature for consideration. The legislature may then approve the measure, ignore it (allowing it to proceed to the ballot), or propose an alternative amendment to appear on the ballot alongside the original citizen initiative.
The specific details of the citizen-initiative process can vary from state to state. For example, in some states, additional signatures may be required to qualify an initiative for the ballot if it is not initially approved by the legislature. In other states, if the legislature passes a law similar to the initiative, the election on the original proposal may be precluded. It's worth noting that not all proposed amendments will receive sufficient support to be placed on the ballot, and even if an amendment is passed, it may be overturned if it is later challenged and found to be unconstitutional.
As of 2025, 26 US states have initiative and/or veto referendum processes at the statewide level, and 18 states specifically provide for citizen-initiated constitutional amendments. The availability of these processes at the local level can also vary depending on state and local laws.
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State constitutional conventions
The process of calling a state constitutional convention typically begins with legislators. In most states, a majority legislative vote is required to initiate the convention process, while other states demand a supermajority legislative vote. Following this, a referendum on holding the convention is usually put forth to voters, with the majority determining whether the convention is convened.
The role of state constitutional conventions in the amendment process is significant. Once convened, the convention participants engage in discussions and debates to draft and propose specific amendments. These amendments are then submitted to the voters for approval or rejection. The convention method has been used sparingly in comparison to the state legislature method, with only one amendment, the Twenty-first Amendment, being ratified through state conventions.
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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 role was established in 1934 when the National Archives was set up as an independent federal agency by Congress. The Archivist is responsible for the supervision and direction of the National Archives.
The Archivist also has a role in the constitutional amendment process. After Congress proposes an amendment, the Archivist is responsible for administering the ratification process. This includes submitting amendments to the states for ratification, collecting state ratifications, and certifying amendments as part of the Constitution once three-fourths of the states (38 out of 50) have ratified them. The Archivist has delegated many of the duties associated with this function to the Director of the Federal Register.
The Archivist also has duties concerning the custody of Electoral College documents in US presidential elections, such as certificates of ascertainment declaring the names of the presidential electors chosen in each state. These administrative responsibilities are also often delegated to the Director of the Federal Register.
To date, the 27th Amendment, ratified in 1992, is the only constitutional amendment to be certified by the Archivist of the United States. Don W. Wilson became the first and so far only Archivist to certify a constitutional amendment.
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Frequently asked questions
The process to amend the Constitution is outlined in Article V of the Constitution. It consists of proposing an amendment and subsequent ratification. Amendments may 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.
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 duties to the Director of the Federal Register, who processes and publishes the proposed amendment. The amendment is then submitted to the States for their consideration.
For an amendment to be ratified and become part of the Constitution, it must be approved by either the legislatures of three-fourths of the states (38 out of 50 states) or by ratifying conventions in three-fourths of the states. This process has only been used once in American history for the 1933 ratification of the Twenty-First Amendment.
Some notable amendments to the Constitution include those that gave women the right to vote, abolished poll taxes, lowered the minimum voting age to 18, and enacted and repealed Prohibition.
