What fraction of both houses of Congress is required to approve amendments?

• A. Simple majority
• B. Unanimous consent
• C. Two-thirds
• D. Three-fourths

Answer: (C)

Amendments require broad consensus in Congress: both the Senate and the House must approve with a two-thirds vote. This higher threshold ensures that any change to the Constitution reflects substantial agreement across different political views, not just a simple majority.

A plain majority could pass reforms with less than wide support, which this process aims to avoid. Unanimous consent is far more demanding than what's required here and practically unattainable for most amendments. The three-fourths figure refers to the ratification stage by the states, not the initial congressional approval.

Note that there is also an alternative path to proposal via a national convention called by two-thirds of the states, though that route has never been used.