Article V allows constitutional amendments to be ratified either by state legislatures or by conventions in three-fourths of states, with Congress choosing which method to use. State ratifying conventions are gatherings of delegates elected by voters specifically to consider one proposed amendment. This method has been used only once in U.S. history: the Twenty-first Amendment repealing Prohibition in 1933. Congress chose conventions over legislatures because many politicians believed questions of individual rights and morals should go directly to the people, not politicians. They also wanted to bypass the temperance lobby, which still controlled many state legislatures despite public opinion turning against Prohibition. The thirty-eight state conventions that considered the amendment in 1933 followed different procedures—some allowed all registered voters to participate, others restricted participation. Utah became the thirty-sixth state to ratify on December 5, 1933, at 5:32 p.m. EST, making the Twenty-first Amendment official less than a year after Congress proposed it.