What are the two ways a US Constitutional amendment can be proposed?

What are the two ways a US Constitutional amendment can be proposed?

• A. By Congress (2/3 vote) and National Convention (2/3rds)
• B. By the President with a two-thirds majority
• C. By Congress with a simple majority
• D. By the Supreme Court

Answer: (A)

The idea being tested is how a constitutional change gets started. The Constitution allows two official paths to propose an amendment. One path is through Congress: both the Senate and the House must approve the proposal by a two-thirds vote. The other path is through a national convention that would be called if two-thirds of the state legislatures (or, in some explanations, state conventions) request it; that convention could propose amendments, which would then move on for ratification. The President and the Supreme Court don’t have a role in proposing amendments, and a simple majority in Congress isn’t enough—two-thirds is the requirement. This design makes it possible to start an amendment either with wide national support in Congress or with broad agreement among the states.

The idea being tested is how a constitutional change gets started. The Constitution allows two official paths to propose an amendment. One path is through Congress: both the Senate and the House must approve the proposal by a two-thirds vote. The other path is through a national convention that would be called if two-thirds of the state legislatures (or, in some explanations, state conventions) request it; that convention could propose amendments, which would then move on for ratification. The President and the Supreme Court don’t have a role in proposing amendments, and a simple majority in Congress isn’t enough—two-thirds is the requirement. This design makes it possible to start an amendment either with wide national support in Congress or with broad agreement among the states.