Chantele Mack, a candidate for the West Virginia state senate in district 16, has signed a pledge supporting term limits for members of Congress. The pledge is part of an initiative by U.S. Term Limits (USTL), an organization working to encourage state lawmakers across the country to support an amendment that would impose such limits.
The USTL pledge states: “I pledge that, as a member of the state legislature, I will cosponsor, vote for, and defend the resolution applying for an Article V convention for the sole purpose of enacting term limits on Congress.” Incumbent Delegate Jason Barrett has also signed the pledge.
The effort comes in response to the 1995 Supreme Court decision in Thornton v. U.S. Term Limits, which determined that only a constitutional amendment can set term limits for members of Congress. Nick Tomboulides, CEO of USTL, said the most effective way to achieve this is through an Article V Proposal Convention initiated by state legislatures.
“The Constitution allows for amendments to be proposed by either 2/3 of Congress or 2/3 of the states. While we’d like for Congress to take the high road and propose term limits on itself, we know they are too self-interested to do that without external pressure,” said Tomboulides. “That is why it is important to get buy-in from state legislators,” he added. “Once proposed, the amendment must be ratified by 38 states.”
Tomboulides also pointed out: “More than 87% of Americans have rejected the career politician model and want to replace it with citizen leadership. The way to achieve that goal is through a congressional term limits amendment. Chantele and Jason know this and are willing to work to make sure we reach our goal.”
A recent nationwide Pew Research poll found strong bipartisan support for congressional term limits, with 87% of adults in favor and just 12% opposed.
U.S. Term Limits describes itself as a nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated solely to advocating for congressional term limits. According to its mission statement, it seeks to improve government quality through a legislature made up of citizens who are responsive to their constituents’ needs.
The organization clarified that it does not endorse candidates; rather, those who sign its pledge are expressing their own support for term limits.
