Few citizens know much about the constitution of their state.
Some don't even know there is one. Yet state constitutions are basic instruments of our democracy. They structure state and local government and stipulate the rights of citizenship. In New York State, as in others, the Constitution mandates a periodic vote on whether the state Constitution should be revised. On Election Day 1997, New York voters will be required under the State Constitution to vote on whether there should or should not be a convention to revise the New York State Constitution.