In the context of constitutional amendments, both the Georgia Constitution (GA) and the United States Constitution (US) have distinct processes. Here’s a brief overview of how amendments are added to each:
Georgia Constitution (GA)
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Proposal: An amendment to the Georgia Constitution can be proposed in two primary ways:
- By a two-thirds majority vote in both houses of the Georgia General Assembly (the House of Representatives and the Senate).
- By a constitutional convention, although this method is less common and has specific procedural requirements.
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Ratification: Once proposed, the amendment must be submitted to the voters in a statewide election. A majority of the votes cast in that election is required for the amendment to be ratified and become part of the constitution.
United States Constitution (US)
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Proposal: There are two methods for proposing amendments:
- A two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
- A constitutional convention called by two-thirds of the state legislatures (this method has never been used).
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Ratification: After an amendment is proposed, it must be ratified by:
- Three-fourths (currently 38 out of 50) of the state legislatures, or
- By conventions in three-fourths of the states. (This method was used for the 21st Amendment.)
Summary
- For Georgia, amendments are proposed by the General Assembly or a convention and ratified by statewide vote.
- For the United States, amendments can be proposed by Congress or a convention and must be ratified by state legislatures or conventions in the states.
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