Take Action

Ratification is a state-level process, not a federal one, thank goodness; Article the First was already passed by Congress in 1789. It does not go back to Congress. It does not require the President's signature. It does not require any federal action at all. What it requires is a majority vote in both chambers of 38 state legislatures. A state legislature passes a ratification resolution, a simple yes/no vote, and the state is recorded as having ratified. There are only 27 more to go. The governor has no role. There is no veto. No state constitutional amendment is required. Hooray!

Contact State Legislators

Reach out to state legislators aka state senators and state representatives in your own state, not congresspeople in Washington. You are not writing to your U.S. Congressman or U.S. Senator. Write to the people who serve in your state capitol.

Possibly your state's judiciary committee or constitutional affairs committee, bbut any member can introduce a resolution, and any member can vote on it. Contact them all!

What to Say

The best part is how simple whole premise is:

I am writing to ask you to introduce and support a resolution ratifying the Congressional Apportionment Amendment, the unratified first article of the original Bill of Rights proposed by Congress in 1789, instituting the proper amount of representation for US citizens, as the founding fathers intended and almost every single state at the time agreed on. Today, ratification requires a majority vote in both chambers: no governor's signature, no federal involvement. Eleven states have already ratified. We only need 27 more. This could fix so many of our problems. There's a non-zero chance we have been doing this all-wrong!

If you want to include a reference, point them to ratifythe1st.org or any of these other catchy domains: missingamendment.org, 1for30000.org, amendmentzero.org, articlethe1st.org, or even 'What Would George Washington Do?' WWGWD.org

A Note on Framing

This amendment is not partisan, everyone but a handful of "elites" would benefit from smaller districts that are harder to manipulate, less dependency on large donors, and more accountable representatives. The very similiar 27th Amendment ratified in 1992 with support from legislatures controlled by both parties in 38 states. There is no good reason it would raise taxes or diminish the rights of anyone, in fact, it may very well come to be seen as the most liberating and freedom inducing event since the Revolution.

Other Ways to Help

If you have knowledge of a specific state legislature, connections to state legislators, fundraising ability, legal expertise, or want to help in any other way, open an issue or start a discussion on GitHub and contribute to the Open Research Questions.

There is a nonprofit specifically about this amendment which may benefit from your contributions.

The States Already Done

Eleven states ratified between 1789 and 1792:

New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Vermont, and Kentucky

If you live in one of these states, good work (just kidding, your legislature already acted 200+ years before you were born). You can contact legislators in other states, tell your frieds, make pretty signs, and help identify which states are the most winnable targets. If you have good ideas please open an issue or start a discussion on GitHub and add to the Open Research Questions.