New York Legislature votes to undo prior requests for U.S. constitutional convention

Alex Gault, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·3 min read
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Mar. 21—ALBANY — The New York Legislature has rescinded all prior requests for a constitutional convention to amend the U.S. Constitution, a move that leading Democrats say will prevent those calls from being misinterpreted to call for a convention now.

In concurrent votes in the Assembly and Senate on Wednesday afternoon, both chambers voted to formally rescind the previous three votes of the legislature to request a convention.

When at least two-thirds of the states in the U.S. vote in favor of it, a constitutional convention can be called to begin the drafting process for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution — that's called an Article V Convention.

It's one of two ways to amend the Constitution, but it's never been used in practice.

Every amendment to the U.S. Constitution has been done by acts of Congress: two-thirds of the U.S. House and Senate voting in support of a proposed amendment, and then ratification by at least three-fourths of state legislatures.

Every state except Hawaii has voted to support an Article V Convention at one point or another.

In 1972, the state legislature voted in support of a convention to decide on an amendment that would permit the public funding of secular, private schools. New York's state legislature also voted for a convention in 1789 and 1931.

The Article V process is a point of some legal contention — the convention vote is explained in the Constitution, but some specifics remain undecided.

It's unclear if a vote for a convention has to be specific to a proposed amendment, and the document doesn't specify if a vote in support of a convention expires if one is or is not called after the vote takes place.

In an attempt to avoid a convention being called, New York's progressive leaders moved to pull the state out of the equation, as other states including Maryland, New Jersey and Nevada have already done in recent years.

Legal experts also disagree on if a state legislature has the power to rescind a vote for a convention after it's been issued, as there is no explanation for such a process in the Constitution.

"We cannot let Americans be held hostage to the whims of those that want to limit our rights or alter our democracy," said Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie, D-Bronx, in a statement Wednesday afternoon. "By rescinding historical calls, we will ensure that the actions of our predecessors — decades or even centuries ago — are not manipulated in a way that would limit the rights of current and future generations."

But one north country lawmaker doesn't see it that way at all. In his weekly video series, Assemblyman Scott A. Gray, R-Watertown, said he felt the move to rescind New York's votes for a convention takes power away from the voter.

"A Constitutional Convention empowers the people," he said. "When we rescind it, we're really taking power away from the people, which is concerning. I voted down on this because I believe in empowering the people.