The Development of the Periodic State Constitutional Convention Referendum Since America’s Founding

Fourteen U.S. state constitutions mandate a periodic state constitutional convention referendum (PCCR), with the specified period between referendums ranging from ten to twenty years. PCCR grants the people three votes: 1) whether to call a constitutional convention, 2) if called, who to elect as convention delegates, and 3) whether to approve the constitutional changes proposed by the convention. These votes correspond to granting the people a type of constitutional “initiation,” “proposal,” and “ratification” power, with the grant of direct initiation power what separates PCCR from the constitutional convention. Through the prism of what this article labels Legislature Bypass Theory, a variant of Constituent Power Theory, this article discusses the development of PCCR since America’s founding, with a focus on its legal, intellectual, and political history.