INTRODUCTION Thirty-four is a magic number. A mathematician might explain that thirty-four is the smallest whole number greater than two-thirds of fifty. A political scientist, or a first grader, might explain that fifty has been the number of states in the United States since 1959. A constitutional law professor would note that thirty-four--the smallest whole number greater than two-thirds of fifty--is therefore the number of state legislatures that, under Article V of the Constitution, must have asked Congress to call a convention in order to trigger Congress's constitutional duty to call such a convention.
