What is the process by which a change to the Constitution can be canceled?
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Adding a New Amendment to the United States Constitution Not an Easy Task! The United States Constitution was written "to endure for ages to come" Chief Justice John Marshall wrote in the
early 1800s. To ensure it would last, the framers made amending the document a difficult task. That difficulty was obvious recently when supporters of congressional term limits and a balanced budget amendment were not successful in getting the new amendments they wanted. 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. Not just any idea to improve America deserves an
amendment. The idea must be one of major impact affecting all Americans or securing rights of citizens. Recently, an amendment to outlaw flag burning may be gathering steam and President Clinton has endorsed the idea of a crime victims' rights amendment. Other amendment proposals that are popular with some congressional leaders would allow voluntary school prayer, make English the country's official language, and abolish the Electoral College. Among amendments adopted this century
are those that gave women the right to vote; enacted and repealed Prohibition; abolished poll taxes; and lowered the minimum voting age from 21 to 18. The amendment process is very difficult and time consuming: A proposed amendment must be passed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress, then ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states. The ERA Amendment did not pass the necessary majority of state legislatures in the 1980s. Another option to start the amendment process is
that two-thirds of the state legislatures could ask Congress to call a Constitutional Convention. A new Constitutional Convention has never happened, but the idea has its backers. A retired federal judge, Malcolm R. Wilkey, called a few years ago for a new convention. "The Constitution has been corrupted by the system which has led to gridlock, too much influence by interest groups, and members of Congress who focus excessively on getting reelected," Wilkey said in a published series of lectures. But Richard C. Leone, president of the New York-based Twentieth Century Fund, a nonpartisan research group, says recent efforts to amend the Constitution go too far. "I think we're overreacting to some people's dissatisfaction with the government," Leone said. His organization hopes to balance the argument by publishing The New Federalist Papers, taking the name from the original Federalist Papers which were written to promote ratification of the Constitution. Polsby, the Northwestern law professor, said the number of proposed amendments is not uncommon. But he agreed that political fixes do not necessarily belong in the Constitution - with Prohibition being the prime example. Information Resource: Amendment Fever Grips Washington: by Laurie Asseo © Associated Press - edited for html by Robert Hedges [LegisBrief] Amending the U.S. ConstitutionBy Brenda Erickson | Vol . 25, No. 30 / August 2017Current efforts by some state legislatures and other groups to amend the U.S. Constitution have brought forth questions about the process for doing so. The Founding Fathers, in crafting the Constitution, believed it should not be easy to amend the nation’s founding document and principles. Authority to Amend the U.S. Constitution Article V of the United States Constitution outlines basic procedures for constitutional amendment.
Amendments Proposed by Congress To date, Congress has submitted 33 amendment proposals to the states, 27 of which were ratified. The 27th Amendment, which prevents members of Congress from granting themselves pay raises during a current session, was ratified in 1992—202 years after it was first submitted to the states. The following steps must be completed for an amendment proposed by Congress to be added to the United States Constitution.\ Step 1. Passage by Congress. Proposed amendment language must be approved by a two-thirds vote of both houses. Step 2. Notification of the states. The national archivist sends notification and materials to the governor of each state. Step 3. Ratification by three-fourths of the states. Ratification of the amendment language adopted by Congress is an up-or-down vote in each legislative chamber. A state legislature cannot change the language. If it does, its ratification is invalid. A governor’s signature on the ratification bill or resolution is not necessary. Step 4. Tracking state actions. Proposed amendments must be ratified by three-fourths of the states in order to take effect. Congress may set a time limit for state action. The official count is kept by Office of the Federal Register at the National Archives. Legislatures must return specific materials to show proof of ratification. Step 5. Announcement. When the requisite number of states ratify a proposed amendment, the archivist of the United States proclaims it as a new amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Actual certification is published immediately in the Federal Register and eventually in the United States Statutes-at-Large. State legislatures often call upon Congress to propose constitutional amendments. While these calls may bring some political pressure to bear, Congress is under no constitutional obligation to respond. The U.S. Constitution does not contain a provision requiring Congress to submit a proposed amendment upon request by some requisite number of states. Amendment by Constitutional Convention In addition to constitutional amendments proposed by Congress, states have the option of petitioning Congress to call a constitutional convention. Legislatures in two-thirds of states must agree, however. While the convention process has yet to be triggered, efforts to do so are not new. In fact, they may be “as old as the republic.” Unofficial sources report convention applications being filed as early as 1789. Interest in a U.S. constitutional convention has peaked and waned several times over the decades. In the early 1900s, direct election of senators was a hot topic. In the 1940s and 1950s, federal taxing power was the focus of many applications. Two issues came close to triggering conventions during the 1960s to 1990s—apportionment and a balanced federal budget. The current wave of interest began around 2010. Its focus is not a single issue nor is it being driven by one organization. Various groups are pushing their viewpoints—be they conservative, liberal, populist or progressive—and are urging action. On the one hand, legislation calls for a convention on a broad array of topics, such as limiting authority of the federal government, balanced federal budget, campaign finance reform, congressional term limits or federal debt. On the other hand, some legislation proposes to rescind previous calls for a convention. The volume of legislation introduced in state legislatures illustrates recent interest.
It is difficult to predict whether current efforts will lead to a constitutional convention. And since an Article V convention has never been held, questions are being raised about when and how this may happen:
How can an amendment to the Constitution be repealed?Can Amendments Be Repealed? Any existing constitutional amendment can be repealed but only by the ratification of another amendment. Because repealing amendments must be proposed and ratified by one of the same two methods of regular amendments, they are very rare.
What is the process of changing the Constitution called?The authority to amend the Constitution of the United States is derived from Article V of the Constitution.
What are the 4 ways the Constitution can be amended?Four Methods of Amending the U.S. Constitution. A two-thirds vote in both houses of the U.S. Congress. Ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures.. A two-thirds vote in both houses of U.S. Congress. ... . A national constitutional convention called by two-thirds of the state legislatures.. |
