How a Constitutional Amendment is Proposed and Ratified

HOUSE RESEARCH

Short Subjects

Matt Gehring Updated: September 2011

How a Constitutional Amendment Is Proposed and Ratified

A constitutional amendment is a change to the state’s constitution that is decided by voters in an election.

Since 1858, 213 constitutional amendments have been voted on by the electorate. The most recent

constitutional amendment that was approved by voters came in 2008, when voters approved a tax to fund

natural resources, arts, and cultural heritage projects.

The Minnesota Constitution and election statutes govern the process of proposing and ratifying amendments.

The legislature

passes an act to

change the

constitution

First, the legislature passes an act proposing a change in the constitution. A

constitutional amendment is just like a session law, but does not require the

governor’s signature, and a governor’s veto has no effect. The act includes the

statement of the question the legislature wants placed on the ballot. The

constitution requires that the act be assigned a session law chapter number,

published with other legislative acts of the same year, and presented to the voters at

a general election. Each amendment must be submitted separately.

Proposed

amendments appear

on the ballot at the

next state general

election

The secretary of state, with approval of the attorney general, prepares a short title

to identify each amendment on the ballot. The ballot question specified by the

legislature appears under the title. The text of the constitution as it would appear if

amended is not printed on the ballot. Sample copies of the ballot are available for

public examination at the secretary’s office and each county auditor’s office before

the state general election.

Constitutional amendment ballot questions appear on the ballot just after the listing

of state offices, before the listing of county offices.

Current administrative rule requires that, if multiple amendments are proposed at

an election, each amendment be assigned a number and appear chronologically in

that order on the ballot.

During the 1990s, questions were assigned numbers and placed on the ballot in the

order they passed the legislature. (Multiple amendments have not been proposed at

the same election since 1998.)

Amendments must

be approved by a

majority voting in

an election, not just

a majority voting on

the amendment

Since 1900, the constitution has required the approval of a majority of those voting

at the election—not just a majority of those voting on the amendment question—to

ratify the amendment. Thus, if a person votes at the election, failure to vote on an

amendment is the equivalent of a “no” vote. A notice to this effect is printed on the

ballot. Historically, it has taken roughly a 60 percent “yes” vote to pass an

amendment.

The Research Department of the Minnesota House of Representatives is a nonpartisan office providing legislative,

legal, and information services to the entire House.

House Research Department  600 State Office Building  St. Paul, MN 55155  651-296-6753  www.house.mn/hrd/hrd.htm

If the state canvassing board finds that a proposed amendment received the

approval of a majority of the voters at the election, the amendment takes effect

immediately unless the amendment specified a later effective date.

For more information: Contact legislative analyst Matt Gehring at 651-296-5052.