Us Amendments To Constitution In Riverside
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An amendment may be proposed by a two-thirds vote of both Houses of Congress, or, if two-thirds of the States request one, by a convention called for that purpose. The amendment must then be ratified by three-fourths of the State legislatures, or three-fourths of conventions called in each State for ratification.
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.
Art. V ( The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments. . .. ).
Scholars have tried for years to quantify the relative difficulty of amending national constitutions. The leading, though outdated, study of amendment difficulty pointed to an enduring truth about the United States Constitution: it is one of the world's most difficult to amend.
Any existing constitutional amendment can be repealed but only by the ratification of another amendment.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.
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.
A constitutional amendment can be initiated by the Legislature if it passes both houses by a two-thirds vote. A constitutional amendment does not need the Governor's signature, but becomes part of the constitution only if the electorate approves it at the next general election.
The electors may amend the Constitution by initiative. To be included on the ballot a Constitutional amendment initiative requires a petition to be submitted to the Secretary of State with the certified signatures of 8-percent of the total vote for all candidates for Governor at the most recent gubernatorial election.
Art. V ( The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments. . .. ).
