The Coming Constitutional Convention: Why 28 States Are Quietly Organizing

01 The Article V Time Bomb

Article V of the Constitution provides two ways to amend it: Congress can propose amendments (the path used for all 27 amendments so far), or 34 state legislatures can call a constitutional convention. This has never happened. But conservative activists have been methodically collecting resolutions from state legislatures for over a decade. As of 2025, 28 states have active resolutions calling for a balanced budget amendment convention — just 6 short of the threshold.

02 What Could Happen

The legal consensus is that a convention, once called, cannot be limited to a single topic. The Framers wrote Article V with no constraints on scope. A convention could propose any amendment — on abortion, guns, voting rights, term limits, or anything else. This terrifies both parties, which is why it hasn't happened. But if 6 more states pass resolutions, it becomes legally unavoidable.

03 The 6-State Math

The 6 closest states are all conservative-leaning: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Virginia, New Hampshire, Maine, and Delaware. If Republicans control these legislatures after the next census redistricting, the convention becomes a realistic possibility. The last time America amended the Constitution without going through Congress was... never. We're in uncharted territory.