Stephen E. Sachs, Restoring Conventions, One Amendment at a Time, National Constitution Center (2025).
Abstract: Article V recognizes two ways that the People might speak: through regular legislatures and through popular conventions. Over time, the convention method has become moribund, mirroring the decline of Article V as a whole. Americans now rely on courts to solve constitutional problems that were supposed to be solved with voting and politics. But we could regain many of the benefits of conventions through a “rolling” convention, in which states begin the work of constitutional change. Through a new amendment, we could create another avenue for change that flips the order of Article V, letting three fourths of states propose amendments that two thirds of Congress could ratify. Flipping Article V preserves the constitutional threshold for amendment, the chance for national deliberation, and the relative power of the states. But it breaks some of the modern barriers to amendments—and helps return constitutional politics to the political process.