After the amendment has at length made its way through the
legislature, it must be ratified by a vote of the people at the next
general election. Another way to get a constitution amended is to call
a convention for that purpose. In order to call a convention, it is
usually necessary to obtain a two thirds vote in the legislature; but
in some states the legislature is required at stated intervals to
submit to the people the question of holding such a convention, as
in New Hampshire every seven years; in Iowa, every ten years; in
Michigan, every sixteen years; in New York, Ohio, Maryland, and
Virginia, every twenty years.[7] A convention is a representative
body elected by the people to meet at some specified time and
place for some specified purpose, and its existence ends with the
accomplishment of that purpose. It is in this occasional character
that the convention differs from an ordinary legislative assembly.
With such elaborate checks against hasty action, it is to be presumed
that if a law can be once embodied in a state constitution, it will be
likely to have some permanence. Moreover, a direct vote by the people
gives a weightier sanction to a law than a vote in the legislature.
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