How can the U.S. Constitution be amended under Article V?

Under Article V of the U.S. Constitution, the process for proposing and ratifying amendments involves two distinct stages.41

Proposal

An amendment may be proposed in one of two ways:
* By a two-thirds vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.23
* By a constitutional convention called by Congress upon the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the states.13

Ratification

Once proposed, an amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of the states. Congress determines which of the two following methods the states must use for ratification:24
* Approval by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states.13
* Approval by conventions held in three-fourths of the states.13

Historically, Congress has almost exclusively utilized the state legislature method for ratification, with the Twenty-first Amendment being the only exception where the convention method was employed. Additionally, Article V stipulates that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.413