Summary
- USTL seeks 34 states to call an Article V convention
for congressional term limits. - No Article V convention has ever been held before.
- The process bypasses Congress, relying on state
legislatures. - Unclear if the convention would be limited to term
limits only.
2025 Robert Walker, the state senate candidate
from Mississippi (district 2), signed the term limits convention pledge,
pledging his support for term limits in Congress. The promise was previously
signed by candidates Charlie Hoots and Theresa Isom. On August 5, 2025, the
extraordinary primary election is planned.
The U.S. Term Limits pledge is provided to
candidates and members of state legislatures. It reads, “I pledge that, as a
member of the state legislature, I will cosponsor, vote for, and defend the
resolution applying for an Article V convention for the sole purpose of
enacting term limits on Congress.”
The United States Supreme Court held in Thornton v. U.S. Term Limits (1995) that the terms of U.S.
Senators and House Representatives could only be limited by a Constitutional
Amendment. “An Article V Proposal Convention of state legislatures is the
best chance to impose term limits on Congress,” said Nick Tomboulides, CEO
of USTL.
“The Constitution allows for amendments to be
proposed by either 2/3 of Congress or 2/3 of the states. While we’d like for
Congress to take the high road and propose term limits on itself, we know they
are too self-interested to do that without external pressure.”
said Tomboulides.
“That is why it is important to get buy-in from state legislators,”
he added.
Once proposed, the amendment must be ratified by 38 states.
Tomboulides noted, “More than 87% of Americans
have rejected the career politician model and want to replace it with citizen
leadership. The way to achieve that goal is through a congressional term limits
amendment. These candidates know this and are willing to work to make sure we
reach our goal.”
According to the latest nationwide poll on term
limits conducted by Pew Research, term limits enjoy wide bipartisan support.
Pew’s analysis states,
“An overwhelming majority of adults (87%) favor limiting
the number of terms that members of Congress are allowed to serve. This
includes a majority 56% who strongly favor this proposal, just 12% are
opposed.”
How many states have currently passed
resolutions applying for a term limits amendment convention?
As of 2025, there are 12 states that have passed
U.S. Term Limits (USTL)’s single-subject application specifically calling for a
congressional term limits amendment convention. These states include Florida,
Alabama, Missouri, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Louisiana, North
Carolina, South Dakota, Indiana, and South Carolina.
Additionally, 19 other states have passed
resolutions containing term limits language as part of multi-subject
applications. USTL prioritizes converting these into single-subject
applications to meet legal clarity for the convention process.
The goal remains to reach 34 states applying for
the convention, which is required to trigger an Article V amendment process
bypassing Congress.
