The Deputies or Delegates to the Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia in 1787 were chosen by the legislatures of their respective states. There were two methods provided in the Constitution for a state to ratify a proposed amendment. Either the state legislature could vote for or against ratification or a convention would be held and the delegates would decide.
The method if choosing the delegates to a ratifying convention was to be left up to the legislatures on each of the states. One state might authorize the governor to appoint the delegates and another might choose to have the delegates appointed by their state legislature. Another state might choose to have them elected by the people.
A common misconception is that Congress has the authority to tell the states which of the two methods of ratification must be used in the ratification of a particular proposed amendment. The Constitution gives no such power Congress. The Constitution states that Congress shall have the power to suggest which method of ratification be employed.
The Constitution does not specify how many delegates each state could send to represent them in an Article V Convention, therefore it is my opinion that the number of delegates would be determined by the individual states. Each state would be entitled to one vote regardless of how many delegates they had in attendanc.
When the delegates arrived in Philadelphia, their first order of business was to establish the rules and procedures that would be followed during the course of the Convention. Presumably if an Article V Convention were to be held in the future the same procedure would follow.
It is not clear if the state legislatures would have the power to instruct their representatives on which proposed amendments they were allowed to support.
The number of states required to force Congress to call a Convention is two thirds. Since 2/3 of 50 is 33 1/3 it is my opinion that the number of states needed would be 34.
The Constitution does not state that the petitions be submitted with any time constraints and that the subject matter of the proposed amendments is not required. It is my opinion that any power or authority not specifically granted to Congress is reserved to the states and the people. As a result, I believe that a state not only has a right to ask for a Convention they also have a right to rescind their application.
Once the 34th state had submitted a request for an Article V Convention, Congress should have called the Convention. The question of whether a Convention is a good or bad idea is not really relevant. The question is simply "Have 34 states requested a Convention?" If the requisite number of states have asked for a convention we really have no choice but to obey the Constitution or violate it.
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