Michigan lawmakers recently voted in favor of calling for a constitutional convention, which would allow the states to propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution without Congress.
The Michigan vote is important because, by some counts, it is the 34th state to call for such a convention, meeting the 2/3 threshold.
If two-thirds of the states indeed have applied, the ball is presumably in Congress’ court to call the convention.
But Article V is rather vague, and it’s ultimately unclear whether 34 states have technically applied. In the past, states like Oregon, Utah and Arizona have quietly voted to approve the provision in their legislature.
But some of the 34 or so have rescinded their requests. Others have rescinded, and then re-applied.
Some constitutional scholars like Gregory Watson, an analyst in Texas, say once states ask, there may be no take-backs.
“There is a disagreement among scholars as to whether a state that has approved an application may later rescind that application,” Watson told The Washington Times. “If it is ultimately adjudicated that a state may not rescind a prior application, then Ohio’s 2013 application for a Balanced Budget Amendment convention would be the 33rd and Michigan’s 2014 application would be the 34th on that topic.”
