Democracy in the Constitution Popular Sovereignty 1. A.) The members of the House of Representatives are chosen every two years by the people of the state in an election. B.) There are two Senators to represent each state.
The most common method of ratification is the three-fourths vote of the state legislatures. When the people prefer a change, Congress passes the amendment and the state legislatures vote to ratify. "Congressional proposal of the amendment is by a two-thirds majority vote in both houses. State ratification is by three-fourths majority" (Mount, 2006). The other ratification method is by convention that involves an entirely different body from the legislature.
First a bill must be passed in both houses of Congress with a super-majority of two-thirds. Then it goes to the states, where three-quarters of state legislatures must approve it. Thus it is very difficult to get an amendment proposed, hence why there have only been twenty seven successful attempts to amend the US constitution in over 200 years. This is in great contrast to the manner in which the UK constitution can be changed, where only a simple vote in parliament is required. This rigidity might suggest that to an extent, US politics is still firmly rooted in the political circumstances of the late 1700s when the constitution was devised, and often struggles to adapt to some changes that occur.
In order to be ratified, the amendment has to be first proposed. To be proposed, an amendment had to be voted by two-thirds of the both houses of Congress or by a national constitutional convention called by Congress at the request of two-thirds of the state legislatures. The latter one has never been used in history. The second process is ratification. An amendment is ratified if three-fourths of the states legislatures voted for it or by conventions in three-fourths of the states.
Bills can be brought to the floor when a majority of the Senate chooses. Then debate, and it is limited by the rules put together in the Rules Committee. The Committee of the Whole debates and amends the bill but cannot technically pass it. Debate is guided by the Sponsoring Committee and time is divided equally between proponents and opponents. Amendments must be germane to the subject of a bill.
Chapter 10, Vocabulary * Primaries: -Election that select candidates. In addition to presidential primaries, there are direct primaries for selecting party nominees for congressional and state offices and proposals for regional primaries. * Direct Primaries: -Primaries used to select party nominees for congressional and state offices. * Initiative petition: -A process permitted in some states whereby voters may put proposed changes in the state constitution to a vote if sufficient. * Referendum: -A state-level method of direct legislation that gives voters a chance to approve or disapprove legislation or a constitutional amendment proposed by the state legislature.
Each Congress is elected for a two-year term and holds two annual sessions. During that time, several bills are introduced. Of all bills, only 5 percent to10 percent of them are actually signed into law. While some may pass through Congress rather quickly, others lead to lengthy hearings in the subcommittees or committees and protracted debates on the floor of the House and Senate. (Cliff Notes) Few legislative proposals emerge from the process exactly as they were first written.
Their definition of amendment meant an improvement or a revision to an original context written previously. There are a few ways that an amendment can be made or become part of the Constitution itself. Oddly enough, only one of those ways has ever been used since the signing of the Constitution and that is having “2/3 of the Senate and House approve the proposal and send it to the states for a vote. At that point, three-fourths must approve the proposed amendment.” (U.S. Constitution, 2010.). According to Article V of the Constitution, “The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by Congress;” (U.S. Constitution,
‘Referenda and other forms of direct democracy, represent a more democratic form of participation than the opportunity to vote in elections’ Discuss. 25 mark past paper question Referenda require the electorate to answer a specific ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question and are held on specific issues. They can only be initiated by the government and are a form of direct democracy in an overall representative democracy. Other forms of direct democracy are; initiatives, recall elections and e-petitions. Initiatives are a form of direct democracy which allows referenda to be initiated by the citizens of a state (through a petition of registered voters where in California e.g.
a) What is a referendum? A referendum or plebiscite is a general vote by the electorate on a single political question that has been put to them for a direct decision. Referendums usually consist of a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question, the result of the referendum decided by the majority result. The questions may be multiple however, requiring the electorate to list their preferences, or the referendum may be a ‘qualified referendum’ – in that a certain condition has been placed on it that it has to meet for it be valid, such as a bench-mark turnout requirement. It is one of the few forms of direct democracy in representative democracies like the UK.