# Convention of States Action A movement-conservative advocacy organization founded in 2013 by [[Michael Farris]] and Mark Meckler (Tea Party Patriots co-founder) to call for an **Article V Convention of States** under the U.S. Constitution's amendment provision — specifically, a state-led constitutional convention with three articulated purposes: imposing fiscal restraints on the federal government, limiting federal power, and imposing congressional term limits. As of September 2026, the organization claims passage of activating-resolution legislation in **20 state legislatures** (of the 34 required to convene a convention), with active campaigns ongoing in additional states. The Convention of States project is the **largest current organized push** for an Article V state-led convention to amend the Constitution — a procedural mechanism never successfully invoked in U.S. history. The doctrinal claim is that a "limited" convention can be safely called for specific purposes; the principal critique (from organizations including the [[Brennan Center]], [[Common Cause]], the John Birch Society on the right, and various legal academics) is that **runaway-convention risk** is unbounded — once convened, a convention's scope is not constrained by the calling resolution and can produce constitutional changes substantially broader than its convening states intended. Convention of States Action's response is that the ratification requirement (38 states must ratify any amendment produced by a convention) provides sufficient procedural protection. For the Right Wing KB, Convention of States Action is **the most consequential current contribution** of [[Michael Farris]]'s post-ADF career and one of the largest constitutional-restructuring projects on the contemporary right — alongside [[Project 2025]]'s administrative-state restructuring, the [[Federalist Society]] judicial-pipeline, and the broader state-level [[Schedule F]]-flavored efforts. The project's success or failure is one of the open questions that will shape the [[Christian Nationalism Ecosystem]]'s long-term institutional trajectory. ## Founding (2013) **[[Michael Farris]]** (founder of [[Home School Legal Defense Association]], founder of [[Patrick Henry College]]) and **Mark Meckler** co-founded Convention of States Action in **2013** as a project of **[[Citizens for Self-Governance]]** (CSG), a 501(c)(3) Meckler had established. The organization was structured as a dual entity: **Citizens for Self-Governance** (501(c)(3), educational and research) and **Convention of States Action** (501(c)(4), lobbying and political advocacy). Farris brought constitutional-law expertise and the homeschool-movement grassroots network; Meckler brought Tea Party organizational experience and digital-mobilization infrastructure. Their partnership connected two of the most effective grassroots-mobilization networks on the contemporary right. ## Mark Meckler Background **Mark Meckler** co-founded **Tea Party Patriots** in **2009** — one of the three major Tea Party national organizations (alongside [[Tea Party Express]] and FreedomWorks-affiliated groups). Meckler departed Tea Party Patriots in **2012** after internal governance disputes with co-founder [[Jenny Beth Martin]] and pivoted to the Article V convention project. His Tea Party experience provided the organizational model for COS Action's grassroots-mobilization strategy: state-by-state volunteer networks, digital fundraising, and pressure campaigns targeting state legislators. ## Article V Mechanics Article V of the U.S. Constitution provides two methods for proposing constitutional amendments: (1) two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress (the method used for all 27 existing amendments), or (2) a **convention called by the legislatures of two-thirds of the states** (34 states). This second method has **never been successfully invoked** in U.S. history. Any amendments proposed by either method must be ratified by **three-fourths of the states** (38 states). Convention of States Action's strategy is to secure passage of **identical or substantially similar resolutions** in 34 state legislatures calling for a convention limited to three purposes: (1) imposing fiscal restraints on the federal government (balanced-budget-type amendments), (2) limiting the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and (3) imposing term limits on federal officials including members of Congress. ## State Legislative Progress As of September 2026, **20 state legislatures** have passed COS Action resolutions — approximately **59% of the 34 required**. **Kansas became the twentieth on January 22, 2026**, per the organization's own tally, ending a nearly four-year drought: the nineteenth state, South Carolina, had signed on in March 2022. The passed states are concentrated in **Republican-controlled legislatures**, predominantly in the South, Great Plains, and Mountain West. Several additional states have passed in one chamber but not both. The campaign has stalled or been defeated in some states where initial passage was reversed (e.g., resolutions rescinded in Delaware, Maryland, and New Mexico after political shifts). The pace of new state passages has been **uneven** — several states passed in the 2014–2017 initial wave, progress slowed during the Trump presidency (when the movement's base was more focused on executive-power exercises than constitutional restructuring), and momentum partially revived in the post-2020 period. ## Runaway-Convention Risk The principal critique of the COS Action project — raised by organizations across the political spectrum including **Common Cause**, the **Brennan Center for Justice**, the **American Bar Association** (which has studied Article V issues), and conservative organizations including the **John Birch Society** and **[[Eagle Forum]]** (under [[Phyllis Schlafly]]'s leadership before her 2016 death) — is that a constitutional convention's scope **cannot be reliably limited** by its calling resolution. The argument is that once delegates convene, the convention's authority is plenary — it can propose amendments on any topic, not merely the topics specified in the calling resolutions. The historical precedent cited is the **1787 [[Constitutional Convention]]** itself, which was called to amend the Articles of Confederation but instead produced an entirely new constitution. COS Action's response is that: (1) the calling resolutions' subject-matter limitations are legally binding; (2) any amendments must still be ratified by 38 states, providing a structural check against radical proposals; and (3) the historical precedent is inapplicable because the modern convention would operate under different procedural rules. The runaway-convention risk has produced an unusual **cross-ideological opposition coalition** — with the John Birch Society and Eagle Forum on the right opposing the convention alongside the Brennan Center and Common Cause on the left. ## Funding and Organization COS Action claims a volunteer network of **5 million+ supporters** (self-reported, including email lists) and has raised **tens of millions of dollars** since founding. Funding comes from a combination of small-dollar grassroots donors and major conservative foundation grants. The organization maintains **state-level directors** and volunteer leadership teams in most U.S. states, organizing testimony before state legislatures, grassroots lobbying campaigns, and voter-education efforts. ## KB Significance Convention of States Action is the **most consequential current effort** to invoke the never-used Article V state-convention mechanism for constitutional amendment. For the [[Christian Nationalism Ecosystem]], COS Action represents one of several long-term constitutional-restructuring projects on the contemporary right — alongside [[Project 2025]]'s administrative-state restructuring, the [[Federalist Society]]'s judicial-pipeline operation, and state-level unitary-executive experiments. The Farris connection links COS Action to the homeschool-movement / HSLDA / [[Patrick Henry College]] institutional network; the Meckler connection links it to the Tea Party grassroots-mobilization legacy. Whether the campaign reaches 34 states is one of the open structural questions that will shape the right's institutional trajectory. ## See Also - [[Michael Farris]] - [[Mark Meckler]] - [[Patrick Henry College]] - [[Christian Nationalism Ecosystem]]