Twenty-eight states have “live” applications to Congress to call a convention to propose a Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA) to the U.S. Constitution, as of January 2018. Although such a convention has never before been convened to propose any of the existing amendments to the Constitution, Article V of the Constitution states that it can be done “on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states” (that is, 34 states). And when that threshold is reached, Article V stipulates that Congress “shall call a convention for proposing amendments.”

The most recent of these 28 applications for a BBA constitutional convention (Con-Con) to pass was from the legislature of Wisconsin. The Wisconsin BBA Con-Con application — Assembly Joint Resolution 21 — passed along strongly partisan lines without a single vote from a Democratic legislator. In fact, the Article V convention movement is primarily regarded as a conservative Republican initiative by both its supporters, who promise it is the solution to curb liberal big government, and by detractors on the Left, who fear a Republican rewrite of the Constitution.

In some cases the mostly liberal opposition from left-wing groups such as Common Cause have incidentally helped convince Republican legislators that a Con-Con or convention of states is a good idea. However, most conservative and even self-proclaimed constitutionalist supporters of a convention may be surprised to learn that there are also liberal and progressive Democrats gunning for an opportunity to get their hands on the Constitution and make their own changes to it at a convention — even one initiated by Republicans with ostensibly “conservative” objectives. Regardless if one believes it or not, the Left wants a Con-Con too!

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