Over the past several decades, state legislatures across the country have sporadically called for an Article V constitutional convention. This convention would open up the US Constitution to additions, edits, and deletions – putting our civil rights and liberties at risk. Our rights to vote, free speech, and privacy could all be up for grabs.
There are no rules or guidelines in our Constitution for how to govern or restrain an Article V convention. There is no guarantee that a convention could be limited to addressing one issue, or would give the American people equal representation.
Instead, unelected and unaccountable delegates would have unlimited power to write their partisan agendas into our Constitution.
Wealthy special interest groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) are spending big money to lobby state lawmakers to demand an Article V convention. Their intent is clear: to enshrine their political agenda in our constitution, without involving the public.
There has not been a constitutional convention in our nation’s history since the passage of our original US Constitution. This convention would lead to chaos, long and costly legal battles, uncertainty about how our democracy functions, and possibly cause economic instability.
Common Cause activists across the country are using our expertise, nonpartisan reputation, and grassroots power to fight back. We have already successfully rolled back calls for an Article V convention in several key states – and will continue fighting to ensure that new calls are not made.
In recent years, Colorado’s state legislature has tried to call for an Article V convention multiple times. So far, these attempts have failed – but we will continue to be vigilant for new attempts.