Article XIII
Citizenship, Equal Protection, and Public Debt
Section 1: Citizenship and Equal Protection
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to its jurisdiction, are citizens of the United States and the state in which they reside. No state shall create or enforce any law that restricts the privileges or immunities of U.S. citizens, nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, or deny equal protection of the laws to any person within its jurisdiction.
Section 2: Apportionment of Representatives
Representatives shall be apportioned among the states based on their respective populations, counting the total number of persons in each state, excluding non-taxed indigenous populations. If the right to vote in any election is denied or abridged for any citizen of the United States due to a violation of criminal law, the basis for apportionment in that state shall be reduced proportionally based on the number of disenfranchised citizens.
Section 3: Eligibility for Public Office
No person shall hold any office, whether civil or military, under the United States or any state, if they have previously taken an oath to support the Constitution of the United States and have subsequently engaged in actions that undermine or oppose it. Congress may, by a two-thirds majority vote in both Houses, remove this disqualification.
Section 4: Public Debt
The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, shall not be questioned. However, neither the United States nor any state shall assume or pay any debt incurred in opposition to the United States or related to claims for the loss or emancipation of slaves. All such debts and claims shall be deemed illegal and void.
Section 5: Enforcement
Congress shall have the power to enforce the provisions of this article through appropriate legislation.