Article V states that one of the methods of ratification is that 3/4 of the state legislatures can approve a proposed amendment.
But does the math change if new states are added before that amendment is ratified? Is it 3/4 of the states at the time of proposal, or at the time of ratification? I assume it’s the latter - but wanted to see if there was a definitive answer.
It’s at the time of ratification. For an extreme example, the 27th Amendment was proposed in 1789 when there were only 13 states, and it was finally ratified in 1992, when it received its 38th vote. It needed 38 votes (3/4 of 50), not 10 votes (3/4 of 13).
The Supreme Court ruled in 1939 that only Congress could decide whether a non-time limited amendment was still valid. This essentially overturned a 1921 decision.
well that sets that if congress isn’t claiming its ratified, then its not ratified.
basically because of the need to keep a physical document, then if congress destroys the document, its dead, and if the document exists with the required 3 out 4 x states ratifications , then its done.
So the answer is congress can only claim its ratified if it meets 3/4 at the time of the claim.
That would mean that States could start jerrymander vs ratification race.. eg one state could split into 10 in order to multiple their vote by 10…