For a U.S. Constitutional Amendment and Amendment Convention

We the People Act:

For a U.S. Constitutional Amendment and Amendment Convention

Why Petition for an Article V Amendment Convention?

Only an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution Can Reclaim Democracy for “We the People.”

Through a series of rulings the U.S. Supreme Court has given powerful special interests constitutional rights and overturned campaign finance laws. This has resulted in control of the government by the wealthy elite. Only an amendment can address this problem because it cannot be overturned by the Supreme Court.

There Are Two Paths to an Amendment in the U.S. Constitution.

Article V of the Constitution lays out the process for amending the Constitution: To get an amendment proposed, either 2/3 of Congress can vote to propose an amendment or 2/3 of the states can petition for a convention to propose an amendment. Either way it's proposed, the amendment must be then ratified by 75% of the states before it becomes part of the Constitution.

We the People Act Is Pending in the Massachusetts Legislature.

The We the People Act urges the use of both avenues to get an amendment proposed. It first calls on Congress to pass an amendment containing the two key planks we need. If after 6 months Congress fails to act, this bill becomes a call for an Article V Amendment Convention.

Congress Alone Cannot Be Trusted To Fix the Problem.

Congress recently earned itself a 9% approval rating from citizens, a significant reason being that Americans know they are beholden to wealthy donors and corporations. Recent research at Princeton and Northwestern Universities confirms that laws passed by Congress do not respond to the needs and desires of average voters, but to the funders of Congressional elections: the economic elite and interest groups.

The Amendment Convention Is the Constitutional Safeguard for Representative Democracy.

The Amendment Convention process is one of the vital checks and balances included in the original Constitution, which was included by the Framers in case Congress ever became corrupted and detached from the will of the American people.

While historically the common path to amending the Constitution has been through Congress, the Framers recognized the need for a failsafe in the event that Congress was part of the problem. This important role falls to state legislatures, through their power to call a convention for proposing amendments. States are the essential backup in the system outlined in Article V, able to bypass an unresponsive Congress. The convention route is a tool that allows state legislators, who are less removed from their constituents and less dependent on money from wealthy donors and special interests, to represent the people when popular sentiment finds no voice in Congress.

State Legislatures Are Taking Action To Reclaim Democracy for “We the People.”

To date, the legislatures of California, Illinois, New Jersey, Vermont and Rhode Island have petitioned for an Amendment Convention for this purpose; it is time for Massachusetts to lead as well.

Why Should We Not Fear an Amendment Convention?

Some people will express reservations about pursuing a convention. These reservations are understandable but misguided. Here are some concerns (in italics) and the related facts.

A federal amendment convention has never happened before. This is pie-in-the-sky.

Most amendments have started with convention petitions from the states.

History has shown that faced with the credible threat of a convention, members of Congress are likely to respond by moving forward with amendments that reflect the concerns of the states petitioning for the convention. Four out of 10 of the last amendments as well as the Bill of Rights began with states applying for a convention to propose those amendments. This means that most amendments (14/27) to the Constitution have historically begun with state level campaigns to call a convention.

Most famously, and in a time similar to our own, the 17th Amendment was proposed by Congress when the states got within 1-2 state applications of calling for a convention. In the early 1900’s the old system of state legislatures appointing U.S Senators was widely viewed as systemically corrupt and anti-democratic. After decades of calls for reform, including amendment proposals that had broad support in the House but languished year after year in the Senate, the popular movement calling for direct election of senators turned to state legislatures and began racking up formal calls for a convention. It was not until the states stood poised to cross the two-thirds threshold and trigger a convention that the Senate finally agreed to act, and in 1912 the 17th Amendment established the direct election of senators.

Calling for an Amendment Convention is a proven way to put pressure on a reluctant Congress to act.

Isn’t it possible that a convention would completely rewrite the Constitution?

No. According to the Constitution (Article V) an amendment convention called by the states would only have the power to propose an amendment, not change the Constitution.

All the convention can do is make proposals. Any proposal that comes out of a convention still has to be ratified by ¾ of the states. No one should seriously believe that 38 state legislatures would be willing to say “yes” to replacing the U.S. Constitution. Nor can the convention change the ratification process by itself; it can only propose an amendment to Article V. It is not plausible that 38 states would agree to lessen their power in future amendment processes by agreeing to weaken the ratification safeguard.

Wouldn’t a convention open the door to all sorts of extreme amendments?

The state ratification requirement is a firm safeguard.

Any amendment proposed by the Amendment Convention would still need to be ratified by 75% of our state governments; i.e., 38 states. It only takes 13 states to block ratification, and only one legislative chamber in a state to block ratification by that state. The ratification requirement means that only the most populist proposals with support across ideological and partisan lines will make it into the Constitution. There are at least 13 states with one chamber solidly controlled by Democrats as well as 13 states with one chamber solidly controlled by Republicans, so nothing too far left or too far right can make it through this ratification safeguard.

The only issue that generates major cross-ideological voter consensus is the near-universal recognition that money is corrupting our political process, and that an amendment is needed to rebalance the power of average citizens and monied special interests. 96% of Americans want to reduce the influence of corruption in elections. And super-majorities of citizens across the country support the reversal of the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC, including Democrats, Republicans, and Independents.

There is strong precedent for a single issue convention.

Furthermore, the U.S. Department of Justice*, the Congressional Research Service**, and constitutional scholars, such as Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig, all agree that a convention can be limited to one specific issue. The U.S. DOJ report concludes:

“... we are convinced that Article V was designed to permit limited conventions and that a variety of legal and political means are available to help to enforce such limits.” (pp. 49-50)

History supports this view. More than 200 conventions have happened at the state level. Not one of these has ever exceeded the scope its mandate. The amendment convention is a time-tested tool for fixing deep-rooted problems.

The “We the People Act” would establish a legislative mandate to limit the topic of the convention to addressing concerns about the integrity of our elections and about the ability of the people to participate in effective self-government. It establishes the legislative intent of restricting its delegates to the topic called for in this legislation.

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* U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Legal Policy. “Report to the Attorney General: Limited Constitutional Conventions under Article V of the United States Constitution.” September 10, 1987. DOJ Report

** Congressional Research Service. “The Article V Convention to Propose Constitutional Amendments: Contemporary Issues for Congress.” Thomas H. Neale. April 11, 2014.

Couldn’t powerful corporate interests or Congress take control of the convention?

Given that our democracy is in crisis, we need a large, organized citizens movement that will create the pressure necessary to get 34 states to call for a convention. Our movement will need to elect delegates to the Amendment Convention and hold them accountable to our goals. There is no way to avoid a political struggle to reclaim our democratic institutions from domination by powerful corporate interests. The U.S. Constitution gives us the tool to do so, and that is the “Amendment Convention of the States.”

To achieve the amendment we need there must be a citizens’ movement that will hold delegates responsible.

Who will be delegates to the Convention? How will it function?

The “We the People Act” calls for delegates to the convention to be half elected citizens and half state and local elected officials. It specifies that no current or former federal elected or appointed officials can be delegates.

Congress will set some guidelines for how the Amendment Convention will function, and there are examples in previously filed Congressional bills. It is expected that the convention will follow the recognized precedents of Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure, including electing a chairperson and then agreeing on its own bylaws.

Democracy at Work, and Why the States Can and Should Lead the Way.

The convention process itself is a democratic process. This route empowers the state legislators, who are less removed from their constituents, to represent the people. The convention brings people together from a variety of perspectives to discuss and debate ideas, distill and synthesize them into a proposal, and then send that to the states for ratification. That’s how democracy is supposed to work in America. We’ve never solved any problem in America with less democracy. Instead, we have amended the Constitution to make America more democratic, more inclusive, and a more perfect union.

Every Generation of Americans has Amended the Constitution. Now, it’s our turn!

The Constitution of the United States has been amended 27 times, once by every generation of Americans. We currently live in one of the longest stretches of time between amendments since the founding of our country. Previous generations of reformers, such as the Abolitionists and Suffragists, proved capable of scaling this imposing precipice.

Now it’s our turn. Let’s win the 28th Amendment. Its passage will lead the way to ending the corrupting influence of private money from public elections and ending corporate use of our Constitution to overturn democratically enacted laws protecting our health, safety, environment and democracy.

It is our generation’s greatest responsibility to restore sovereignty to

‘We the People!’

See for more information (version Feb. 20, 2017)