How do informal amendments work

Print Tweet Share on Facebook. Comments Add a public comment to this FAQ Entry. Contact Us. Submit a Question. Don't see an answer to your question? Submit a new question to us using this form. The state legislatures have, in times past, used their power to apply for a national convention in order to pressure Congress into proposing a desired amendment.

A classic example of this was demonstrated starting in the late s. During that period a movement to amend the Constitution to provide for the direct election of U. Senators caused such proposals to regularly pass the House of Representatives only to die in the Senate.

As time went by, more and more state legislatures adopted resolutions demanding that a convention be called. In response to this pressure the Senate finally relented and approved what later became the Seventeenth Amendment for fear that such a convention—if permitted to assemble—might stray to include issues above and beyond the direct election of U. The President has no formal role in the constitutional amendment process.

As previously stated, the Constitution requires that at least two-thirds of the members present of both the House of Representatives and the Senate the agree to a joint resolution which proposes a constitutional amendment. However, in Hollingsworth v. Virginia , the Supreme Court held that it is not necessary to place constitutional amendments before the President for signature and that, by the same logic, the President is powerless to veto a proposed constitutional amendment.

After being officially proposed, a constitutional amendment must then be ratified either by the legislatures of at least three-fourths of the states, or by conventions in the same proportion of states.

Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution that have been ratified, Congress has specified the method of ratification through state conventions for only one: the 21 st Amendment, which became part of the Constitution in Most states hold elections specifically for the purpose of choosing delegates to such conventions. New Mexico state law provides that the members of its legislature be the delegates at such a state ratification convention. Although a proposed amendment is effective after three-fourths of the states ratify it, states have, in many instances, ratified an amendment that has already become law, often for symbolic reasons.

The states unanimously ratified the Bill of Rights; the Thirteenth Amendment, abolishing slavery; the Fourteenth Amendment, providing for equal protection and due process; the Fifteenth Amendment, prohibiting racial discrimination in voting; and the Nineteenth Amendment, granting women a federal constitutional right to vote.

In several cases, the ratification process took over a century. The United States Constitution can be changed informally. Informal amendments mean that the Constitution does not specifically list these processes as forms of amending the Constitution, but because of change in society or judicial review changed the rule of law de facto.

These methods depend on interpretations of what the constitution says and on interpretive understanding of the underlying intent. This type of change occurs in two major forms: through circumstantial change and through judicial review. Sometimes society changes, leading to shifts in how constitutional rights are applied. For example, originally only land-holding white males could vote in federal elections.

Due to a burgeoning middle class at the peak of the Industrial Revolution in the s, society became focused on expanding rights for the middle and working classes. This led to the right to vote being extended to more and more people. However, formal recognition of the right of poor whites and black males, and later of women, was only fully secured in the Fifteenth Amendment and the Nineteenth Amendment In the United States, federal and state courts at all levels, both appellate and trial, are able to review and declare the constitutionality of legislation relevant to any case properly within their jurisdiction.

This means that they evaluate whether a law is or is not in agreement with the Constitution and its intent. This is commonly held to have been established by Chief Justice John Marshall in the case of Marbury vs. Madison , which was argued before the Supreme Court in During each term of Congress from through , the proposed amendment was passed by the House of Representatives but never by the Senate.

The closest it came was during voting on June 27, , with 66 in support and 34 opposed. This was one vote short. First proposed in , it would overturn the Roe v. Wade court ruling. A total of proposals using varying texts have been proposed with almost all dying in committee. The only version that reached a formal floor vote, the Hatch-Eagleton Amendment, was rejected by 18 votes in the Senate on June 28, This was proposed by Representative Louis Ludlow in This amendment would have heavily reduced America's ability to be involved in a war.

This amendment has been introduced many times. Proposed on April 9, , to establish that "The people retain the right to pray and to recognize their religious beliefs, heritage, and traditions on public property, including schools. Declaring that it is not an establishment of religion for teachers to lead students in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance with the words "one Nation under God" , proposed on February 27, , by Oklahoma Representative Frank Lucas.

Proposed by Congressman Gene Green on September 14, It would abolish the Electoral College. After a Senate hearing in regarding the need for an amendment to ensure continuity of government in the event that many members of Congress become incapacitated, Senator John Cornyn introduced an amendment to allow Congress to temporarily replace members after at least a quarter of either chamber is incapacitated.

Proposed by Senator Orrin Hatch. It would allow naturalized citizens with at least 20 years of citizenship to become president. Proposed in by Georgia Senator Zell Miller. It would define marriage and prohibit same-sex marriage, even at the state level.

Proposed as early as , various congressmen, including Rep. Barney Frank, Rep. Steny Hoyer, Rep. Howard Berman, and Sen. Harry Reid, have introduced legislation, but each resolution died before making it out of its respective committee. The current amendment limits the president to two elected terms in office and up to two years succeeding a President in office. The last action was on January 4, , Rep.

On February 25, , Senator Lisa Murkowski, because she believed the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of would be unconstitutional if adopted, proposed a Constitutional amendment that would provide a representative to the District of Columbia. Congress, where the limit for senators will be two terms for a total of 12 years and for representatives, three terms for a total of six years. On November 15, , Representative James P. McGovern introduced the People's Rights Amendment, a proposal to limit the Constitution's protections only to the rights of natural persons, and not corporations.

Federal Election Commission. It stated that corporations are not entitled to the same constitutional rights as people. It would also ban corporate campaign donations to candidates.

Additionally, it would give Congress and the states broad authority to regulate spending in elections. Federa l Election Commission. Jesse Jackson, Jr. On May 13, , Reps.

Mark Pocan and Keith Ellison re-introduced the bill. Unlike formal amendments which change the written word of the U.

Constitution, informal amendments are changes not affecting the written document but affecting the way the Constitution is interpreted. There are many ways informal amendments can occur but all are affected by two overall political processes:. For example, originally only land-holding white males could vote in federal elections. Due to a burgeoning middle class at the peak of the Industrial Revolution in the s, society became focused on expanding rights for the middle and working classes.

This led to the right to vote being extended to more and more people. However, formal recognition of the right of poor whites and black males, and later of women, was only fully secured in the Fifteenth Amendment and the Nineteenth Amendment This means that they evaluate whether a law is or is not in agreement with the Constitution and its intent.

In American legal language, "judicial review" refers primarily to the adjudication of the constitutionality of statutes, especially by the Supreme Court of the United States. This is commonly believed to have been established by Chief Justice John Marshall in the case of Marbury vs. Madison, which was argued before the Supreme Court in A number of other countries whose constitutions provide for such a review of constitutional compatibility of primary legislation have established special constitutional courts with authority to deal with this issue.

In these systems, no other courts are competent to question the constitutionality of primary legislation. Special interests have been a major source of informal amendment by influencing the political process through exerting influence over elected officials by way of campaign financing and information dissemination.

In December , Congressman James G. Blaine sought to apply the religion clauses of the First Amendment directly to the states by specifically prohibiting the disbursement of public funds for parochial church-run education.

While this proposed Amendment overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives, it fell four votes short in the Senate, keeping it from being presented to the states and killing its chances of becoming what would have possibly become the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution. You will examine the Blaine Amendment and analyze its impact in the following ways:. Read the overview article on the Blaine Amendment. After reading the article, answer the following questions.

How has the 14 th Amendment been used to address the restrictions intended in the Blaine Amendment even though it was never passed as a Constitutional amendment? How do we see the legacy of the Blaine Amendment today in our present public policy? If the Blaine Amendment were to be proposed again today, would you support it? Explain and defend your answer. What present issues and Court cases have centered around the issues presented in the Blaine Amendment? How do these issues impact your life today?

Read the article at The Neutrality Principle and prepare a one-page paper that addresses and answers the following questions. Be sure to support your answers with appropriate evidence and references to the documents that have been provided in this assignment.

Briefly describe the issue s addressed in this article. Be as specific as possible. What is the overall policy question presented in this article? Hint: What problem or question is the author presenting to you, the reader? What is your position on the policy question s raised in the article? Briefly one or two sentences state your position based on the evidence presented. What evidence in the article supports your position?

Present at least three pieces of evidence. What parts of the article would you consider as contrary to your position? Many people today have made the argument that the United States has been gifted with a "living Constitution. Junior high students lug home civics textbooks with that title and texts such as this can never avoid at least briefly discussing this topic.

What does this idea mean? Our Constitution has existed for well over years, longer than any other such document, yet it continues to be a civic touchstone and the model for constitutional democracies around the world.

It is also the standard of governance for new and emerging democracies worldwide. Supporters of this theory of open Constitutional interpretation are described as judicial "activists". For the most part, this is where legal scholars, politicians, and legislators have experienced deep controversy for more than a century.

If approved, it becomes a formal proposal, and is sent to the state legislatures to be ratified. So, be it formally or informally, the U. Constitution is made to be changed.

First Method — Amendment is proposed by Congress by a two-thirds vote in both houses, then ratified by three-fourths of the State legislatures. Party practices may refer to rules and regulations that are being implement in a particular group in the government and followed by the members to change the current political process.

For example: Nominating a president or other government officials for the coming election is also an example of party practices.