The Constitution can be amended through a two-step process:
-
Proposal: An amendment can be proposed in one of two ways:
- By Congress: A two-thirds majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate must agree on the amendment.
- By a Constitutional Convention: Two-thirds of the state legislatures can call for a convention to propose amendments.
-
Ratification: Once an amendment is proposed, it must be approved by three-fourths (38 out of 50) of the state legislatures or by conventions in three-fourths of the states.
This process ensures that changes to the Constitution require broad consensus at both the national and state levels.