Menu Close

How is a constitutional amendment ratified or approved?

How is a constitutional amendment ratified or approved?

Congress must pass a proposed amendment by a two-thirds majority vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives and send it to the states for ratification by a vote of the state legislatures. This process has been used for ratification of every amendment to the Constitution thus far.

What is the most common way to ratify an amendment?

a) The most common way to add an amendment to the Constitution would be to propose it by a 2/3 vote of each house of Congress and be ratified by 3/4 of the state legislatures.

How are the amendments to the constitution proposed?

The Constitution provides that an amendment may be proposed either by the 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 the State legislatures. None of the 27 amendments to the Constitution have been proposed by constitutional convention.

Who votes on constitutional amendments?

The Constitution provides that an amendment may be proposed either by the 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 the State legislatures.

How does the archivist submit a constitutional amendment?

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. The Governors then formally submit the amendment to their State legislatures or the state calls for a convention,…

What happens when a state ratifies an amendment to the Constitution?

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 OFR examines ratification documents for facial legal sufficiency and an authenticating signature.