The US Constitution Amendment Process

The American constitution is a governing text that contains the supreme law of the nation. The constitution was written to provide the national government the authority to carry out different duties without infringing on the basic human rights enshrined in the same text. As a result, the powers of the government were split into three major branches: the president, the legislature, and the judiciary (Chemerinsky, Erwin 1561). On December 17, 1787, this document was signed into law. However, the United States Constitution may be revised to add elements considered appropriate or to extend current laws to accommodate evolving problems of society. An amendment is the improvement or revision of the original document that was signed in 1787. Until now, only 27 amendments have been approved and six disapproved while thousands of amendment proposals have been discussed(Chemerinsky, Erwin 1561). The ratification process of the constitutional amendment is conducted by the archivists of the United States who is the head of national chives and record administration. However, the archivist may delegate this duty to the Director of the Federal Register.



The Amendment Process

The US Congress has the powers to amend the constitution whenever it is deemed fit to do so. This happens whenever two-thirds of both houses propose an amendment to the constitution. The amendment article becomes law and effective just as any other part of the constitution. The US constitution in article five stipulates the official ways through which an amendment can be done to the constitution. First, the constitutional amendment is made when the Congress proposes the same, and secondly, through a convention called by the majority of the legislature (Chemerinsky, Erwin 1561). However, all the amendments that have been done to the constitution of the US have not been done through constitutional convention.

The amendment process starts with the presentation of amendment bill either from the Senate or the house of the representative. Any amendment proposition from either of the houses is considered a joint resolution. For a proposed amendment to be approved, a two-thirds supermajority is needed from both the house of the representative and the Senate. The president has no constitutional role in the constitution amendment process (Joshi, Sopan 964). As such, the approved amendment does not need to be taken to the president for approval. However, article V has temporarily banned the amendment of certain parts of the constitution especially those touching on the Congress.

The approved amendment is then prepared by the Office of the Federal Register and emailed to all the governors of the fifty states of the US. The governors present the proposed bill to their respective legislative houses for discussion and approval. However, it has been noted before that some states have not waited for the official communication from the registrar. They proceeded to discuss the amended constitution. Upon approval by the state, their discussion on the amendment is taken in the form of certified copies or copies of the original to the director of federal register to cross check it for legal sufficiency and authentication signature (Joshi, Sopan 967). The director then acknowledges the receipt of the document and keeps the custody of the same if they are found to meet the constitutional threshold. These documents are preserved at OFR until the amendment process is successful or disapproved.

When an amendment fails, the records are transferred to national archive for preservation. Nonetheless, the amendment will only become part of the US constitution if at least 38 out of 50 states approve it. However, the ratification process can be within a reasonable period as stated by the Supreme Court. This became a condition after the 18th amendment that gave women the right to vote (Joshi, Sopan 969). On the other hand, when the amendment is ratified by the required number of state, the Office of the Federal register writes a formal document acknowledging that it has received required number valid ratification document and asks the archival to certify that the amendment is valid and is, therefore, part of the US constitution. Moreover, the certification is then published in the Federal Register as well as the US statutes (Re, Richard 307).

The second official way of amending the constitution is through convention. This takes place when two-thirds of the states require that the Congress convene for the sake of amending the constitution. The convention is attended by delegations from all the states to propose appropriate amendment to the contentious close of the constitution. Constitutional amendment through convention has not happened in the US since the constitution came into action in 1787. However, there have been concerns pushing for the use of convention to amend issues such as the balanced budget amendment (Joshi, Sopan 964).. It is not clear the number of amendments that the convention can make when called upon. This has no provision from the courts and the Congress. The publication is intended to provide official notice to the Congress and the nation concerning the approval of the amendment process of the constitution. Ones an amendment has been approved, no state can make the amendment invalid. The only way provided in the constitution to invalidate an amendment is to make another amended to the amended constitution.

However, there are instances where some states have sent letters to National Archive and Records Administration rejecting the ratification of an amendment. However, the archivist has limited powers on state ratification actions and cannot determine its validity (Joshi, Sopan 971). However, its certification of the legal sufficiency of the state ratification is final. The constitution does not give a clear guideline whether states are allowed to withdraw their ratification of the amendment before approval, but what is clear is that if the ratification process has been completed the withdrawal is not an option to any state.

The certification is an event that is normally considered ceremonial and attended by various dignitaries in the country. For instance, President Johnson signed as a witness during the certification of the 24th and 25th amendments. Moreover, President Nixon alongside other three scholars witnessed the certification of the 26th amendment (Re, Richard 299). The 26th amendment was meant to grant those who are 18 years to participate in the American voting process. Happening for the first time in the United States, archivist signed the certification recognizing the ratification of the 27th amendment in may 18th 1992. During this even, director of federal register signed the certification as a witness.

The Amending process as described in section V is a complex process. This is to ensure that the people of US are protected from unnecessary amendments of the constitution. This explains why only a few amendments have been approved despite discussion of thousands of them. That is, only 27 have been approved to become part of the US constitution.

































Works Cited

Chemerinsky, Erwin. "Amending the Constitution." Michigan Law Review, vol. 96, no. 6, May 2011, p. 1561. 

Joshi, Sopan. "The Presidential Role in the Constitutional Amendment Process." Northwestern University Law Review, vol. 107, no. 2, Winter2013, pp. 963-998

Re, Richard M. "Promising the Constitution." Northwestern University Law Review, vol. 110, no. 2, Jan. 2016, pp. 299-355