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At present, the U.S. Constitution is the oldest written constitution still in force and, at the same time, one of the most difficult to amend or improve. There have only been 27 amendments<\/a> since the Constitution was ratified in 1788. Some broadly popular reforms \u2014 from overturning Citizens United to guaranteeing equal rights regardless of sex \u2014 never make it into the Constitution, no matter how many Americans support them. The American people widely agree that the system is broken<\/a> and needs to change, but unlike other constitutions, ours provides no reasonable means for evolution. To keep our democracy responsive and legitimate, we need a more accessible way to amend the Constitution \u2014 we need to change the way we change.<\/p>\n The American Constitution is deliberately<\/a> frozen in place. Article V sets a nearly insurmountable bar: Any amendment requires two-thirds approval in both the House of Representatives and the Senate and ratification by three-quarters of the states. In practice, this means that just 13 states representing a small minority of Americans can block any change, no matter how widely supported. More than 11,000 amendments have been formally proposed in U.S. history, meaning only 0.2% have made it through this gauntlet. Even amendments like the Equal Rights Amendment<\/a>, which had widespread support, were unable to pass this high bar.<\/p>\n Other democracies have proven that constitutions can evolve without losing their legitimacy. France, for instance, has cycled through multiple constitutions<\/a> and amended its current one more than 20 times<\/a> since 1958, adjusting institutions as society has changed. Germany\u2019s Basic Law, written in the ashes of World War II, was deliberately designed<\/a> to adapt while preserving democratic guardrails. In Canada<\/a> and India<\/a>, too, constitutional change has been a normal, recurring feature of politics rather than an impossible mountain to climb. Stability does not require rigidity, and flexibility has often been democracy\u2019s best safeguard.<\/p>\n The cost of this rigidity is not abstract. It shows up in the everyday failures of American governance. We live under rules that almost everyone agrees are outdated, but which no one has the power to change. Gerrymandering<\/a> continues to warp elections. The Electoral College misfires<\/a> with alarming regularity. Campaign finance reform<\/a> is a fantasy. Even basic voting rights \u2014 supposedly the bedrock of democracy \u2014 are subject<\/a> to partisan sabotage. We\u2019re stuck because the only body that can propose such changes is the very Congress that benefits from the status quo.<\/p>\n