Read the excerpt from Article V of the Constitution below.

The Congress . . . shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or . . . shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States.

Based on the excerpt, which of the following best describes the process of amending the Constitution?

The process of amending the Constitution is difficult, and it happens rarely.
The process of amending the Constitution is easy, and it happens often.
The process of amending the Constitution is difficult, but it happens often.
The process of amending the Constitution is easy, but it happens rarely.

Article V describes the process necessary to reform the constitution. It establishes two methods of proposing amendments: by Congress or by a national convention requested by the states. With the first method, the Congress can propose an amendment with the votes of two thirds (of a quorum, not necessarily of the whole chamber) of the Senate and the House of Representatives. With the second method, the legislative bodies of two thirds of the states can summon and force Congress to convene a national convention, and Congress must convene that convention in order to consider the proposed amendments. Until 2015, only the first method - proposed by Congress - has been used.

Once proposed-either by Congress or by national conventions-the amendments must be ratified by three-quarters of the states to take effect. Article V grants Congress the option of requiring ratification by the legislative bodies of the states or by special conventions convened in the states. The method of ratification by convention has only been used once (to approve the Twenty-first Amendment). Article five currently only imposes a limitation on the power of amendment-no amendment can deprive a state of its equal representation in the Senate without the consent of that state.