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.