There are some half-dozen classes of technical requirements which make
the amending of many state constitutions wellnigh impossible. Some
states have never been able to amend; others have had to submit the
same amendment again and again before it passed, even in the case of
measures which were not unpopular. The Legislatures of Nebraska and
Alabama have occasionally succeeded in passing amendments favored
by politicians, by resorting to clever tricks to circumvent the
constitutional handicaps. Only by outwitting the framers have they
been able to make changes in their constitutions.
Among the common technical requirements are the passing by a set
proportion much larger than a mere majority of the legislature;
the passing of the people's vote by a majority of those voting for
candidates and not merely of those voting on the amendment itself;
the setting of special time and other limits for the submission
of amendments, etc. Many states combine three or more of these
requirements.
No impediment seems more vexatious than that which prevented the
Arkansas bill from coming before the people after the Legislature of
1915 had approved submission.
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