Question

How can the Constitution be
amended?

Answer 1

The Constitution of the United States can be amended through a two-step process that involves proposals and ratification. There are two methods to propose an amendment and two methods to ratify it:

### Proposal

1. **Congressional Proposal**: An amendment can be proposed by a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

2. **Constitutional Convention**: Alternatively, an amendment can be proposed by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures. This method has never been used.

### Ratification

Once an amendment is proposed, it must then be ratified:

1. **State Legislatures**: An amendment can be ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths (38 out of 50) of the states.

2. **State Conventions**: Alternatively, it can be ratified by conventions in three-fourths of the states. This method has been used only once, for the 21st Amendment.

### Additional Information

- The process is intentionally rigorous to ensure that only amendments with significant support are adopted, reflecting a broad consensus across both federal and state levels.
- Once ratified, an amendment becomes part of the Constitution and is enforced like any other constitutional provision.

The last amendment to the Constitution, the 27th Amendment, was ratified in 1992.