Conventions within the states to ratify an amendment to U.S. Constitution
Encyclopedia
State ratifying conventions are one of the two methods established by Article V of the United States Constitution for ratifying constitutional amendments. Ratifying conventions have only been used for the ratification of the 21st Amendment
. All others have been proposed for ratification by the state legislatures.
. The 21st is also the only constitutional amendment that repealed another one, namely, the 18th Amendment
, which had been ratified 14 years earlier.
A state ratifying convention may not change the proposed amendment, but must accept or reject it.
New Mexico
law provides that the members of its legislature would themselves make up such a convention, if Congress were to again select that particular method of ratification. It is unclear whether the law violates the United States Constitution.
Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution repealed the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which had mandated nationwide Prohibition...
. All others have been proposed for ratification by the state legislatures.
Constitutional text
Article V reads in pertinent part (italics added):Use of the convention ratification option
Ratification of proposed amendment has been done by state conventions once: the 1933 ratification process of the 21st AmendmentTwenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution repealed the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which had mandated nationwide Prohibition...
. The 21st is also the only constitutional amendment that repealed another one, namely, the 18th Amendment
Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Eighteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution established Prohibition in the United States. The separate Volstead Act set down methods of enforcing the Eighteenth Amendment, and defined which "intoxicating liquors" were prohibited, and which were excluded from prohibition...
, which had been ratified 14 years earlier.
A state ratifying convention may not change the proposed amendment, but must accept or reject it.
Purpose
Clearly, the framers of the Constitution wanted a means of sometimes bypassing the state legislatures in the ratification process. To some extent, the convention method of ratification loosely approximates a one-state, one-vote national referendum on a specific proposed constitutional amendment, thus allowing the sentiments of registered voters to be heard on highly sensitive issues.New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
law provides that the members of its legislature would themselves make up such a convention, if Congress were to again select that particular method of ratification. It is unclear whether the law violates the United States Constitution.