What fraction of state legislatures must approve an amendment before it becomes law?
(1 point)
Responses
one-half
one-half
three-fifth
three-fifth
two-thirds
two-thirds
three-fourths
three-fourths
two-thirds
Three-fourths of state legislatures must approve an amendment before it becomes law.
The correct answer is three-fourths. To understand why, we need to know a bit about the process of amending the United States Constitution. According to Article V of the Constitution, there are two methods of proposing an amendment: by Congress or by a national convention called by Congress. Whichever method is used, the proposed amendment must then be ratified by the states.
To become law, an amendment requires approval by three-fourths of the state legislatures. This means that if two-thirds of Congress propose an amendment, it must then be ratified by three-fourths (or the equivalent) of the state legislatures.
In this case, out of the options given, "three-fourths" is the correct answer.