What is the ?

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The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution limits presidents to two elected terms in office. A person who has served more than two years of another presidents term can be elected only once.

1951

The year this amendment was ratified in.

What is a constitutional amendment?

A constitutional amendment alters the Constitution of the United States by striking or inserting new language. The Constitution establishes the structure, powers, and responsibilities of the federal government. It has been formally amended 27 times.

The constitutional amendment process is as follows:

Step 1

Two-thirds vote

An amendment may be proposed by a two-thirds vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called by two-thirds of state legislatures.

Step 2

Three-fourths ratification

Once proposed, the archivist of the United States submits the amendment to the states for consideration. It becomes part of the Constitution once it is ratified by three-fourths of the states.

Full text of the 22nd Amendment

"Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term. Section 2. This Article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress."

When did the states ratify the 22nd Amendment?

Congress proposed this amendment on March 24, 1947. Ratification was completed on February 27, 1951, when the 36th state, Minnesota, approved the amendment, with 48 states in the Union at the time. Maine was the first state to approve, seven days after the amendment was proposed. Alabama was the last state to approve, 1,500 days after the amendment was proposed.

Minnesota completed ratification of the 22nd Amendment.

Date of ratification by state, 22nd Amendment

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How has the 22nd Amendment shaped Supreme Court rulings?

The Supreme Court has the power of judicial review, which is the authority to declare that federal or state government actions violate the Constitution. This power shows how individual amendments can have a lasting impact on how laws are interpreted and applied.

Under judicial review, there have been zero cases where the Court struck down laws as unconstitutional using the 22nd Amendment.

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USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.