Flexible State Borders

Propose an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to the effect that:

1. Any county that sits on the border of its state with another state has the right to leave its current state and come under the jurisdiction of that other state subject to the following conditions:

2. Such a move is not allowed if it would render its original state non-contiguous by land, but it would be allowed if the state of origin is contiguous by means of some body of water. [This takes into account that some states are already only contiguous by water, like Michigan and Rhode Island]

3. A county's move is deemed valid pending two votes by its populace: The first to determine by simple majority vote whether to decide to move (to be carried out in conjunction with any primary vote in that county), the second vote to ratify the move to the adjacent state, determined by a vote of 60% plus one (to be carried out by the subsequent general election to that primary vote). [This is to prevent a county from "dissolv(ing) the political bands which have connected them" for "light and transient causes", to quote the Declaration of Independence, while at the the same time allowing it to take place if enough of the county's population deems it necessary]

4. Upon approval, a county's move will take place one year (or similar period of time) prior to the last day of the next national census. [This is to allow sufficient time to account for th county's population in the new state and allow sufficient time to take the new border into account for the redistricting that takes place in each state after the release of the U.S. Census.]

5. A county's move to its new state may be negated at any time before the execution of that move by a majority vote of its populace to that effect. [This adds another layer of protection for state governments who are willing and able to redress outstanding grievances before the county officially changes its state jurisdiction.]

Since I'm not a lawyer, I know the language definitely needs cleaning up. Nevertheless, I think such a constitutional amendment could improve the accountability of state government to its constituents. If an unwelcome law is enacted by the government of a state, then that state could face a loss of its territory (and tax base, by the way) by citizens voting their county into the next state over. The converse might also be true: If a state makes laws attractive to the interests of a portion of a neighboring state, then that state could be rewarded with a gain in territory, taxes, etc.

It could also improve the accountability of the Federal government to its constituents. Our current Federalist system keeps State governments accountable to the Federal government and competitive with one another in a similar way, as people tend to "vote with their feet" and move if a state's government gets too oppressive, thereby reducing that state's representation in congress and its ability to elect a president through the Electoral College. The suggested amendment would enhance this effect, thereby also improving the accountability of the Federal government to its constituents also.

Such an amendment would modify Aticle IV, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution without violating the letter or the spirit of what that Section already states. That section prevents new states from being "formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress." This amendment would allow territory to be shifted among the states that already exist with the consent of those who live there, not create new States from States that already exist. This amendment is also sufficiently neutral to all existing states [Even Alaska and Hawaii with the "contiguous by water" clause] so that it will not "Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State."