How may a constitutional amendment be proposed at the national level?

A constitutional amendment can be proposed at the national level primarily through the action of the U.S. Congress, which must achieve a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. This legislative process is outlined in Article V of the Constitution, which establishes a clear and structured method for proposing amendments.

The significance of requiring a two-thirds majority ensures that any amendment represents a significant consensus among elected representatives, reflecting a broad agreement across the political spectrum. This high threshold is intended to prevent hasty or extreme changes to the Constitution, thereby maintaining its stability and integrity over time.

Other methods of proposing an amendment, such as a national convention called by two-thirds of state legislatures, can also be undertaken, but this option is less commonly utilized. Choices that suggest alternatives such as a popular referendum or an executive order are not valid methods for proposing amendments as defined by the Constitution. A popular referendum implies a direct vote by the citizenry, which is not a recognized mechanism under the U.S. Constitution for amending it, and executive orders are inherently administrative actions taken by the President, not a means of altering the Constitution itself.