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Seventeenth Amendment To the United States Constitution Information

The Seventeenth Amendment (Amendment XVII) to the United States Constitution established direct election of United States Senators by popular vote. The amendment supersedes Article I, § 3, Clauses 1 and 2 of the Constitution, under which Senators were elected by state legislatures. It also alters the procedure for filling vacancies in the Senate, to be consistent with the method of election. It was ratified and took effect on April 8, 1913.

Contents

Text

“ The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.

When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.

 ”

History

Originally, a Senator was elected by the legislature of a state, and was expected to represent the state government within the Federal government. This was expected to help keep the balance between Federal and state authority. Also it was believed that while an unqualified candidate might win a popular-vote majority through demagoguery or superficial qualities, the legislature, which could deliberate on its choice, and whose members had been selected by their constituents and had experience in politics, would be safe from such folly. Finally, election by the legislature was expected to insulate Senators from the distraction of public campaigning for election or re-election, leaving them free to concentrate on the great business of the Federal government. This last purpose was also served by the six-year term for Senators, compared to the two-year term for U.S. Representatives.

Election by legislatures generally occurred without major problems up to the mid-1850s. There were frequent vacancies of a few days up to several months, but these nearly always occurred when Congress was not in session, and so were harmless. But in the 1850s, the sectional crisis over slavery led to increasing partisanship and strife. As a result, Indiana failed to elect a Senator from March 1855 to February 1857, while California failed to elect from March 1855 to January 1857.

California had previously failed to elect from March 1851 through January 1852, missing two months of the first session of the 32nd Congress, while Delaware failed to elect from September 1839 to January 1841, missing the entire first session and half the second session of the 26th Congress.

After the Civil War, the problems multiplied. In one case in the mid-1860s, the election of Senator John P. Stockton from New Jersey was contested on the grounds that he had been elected by a plurality rather than a majority in the state legislature.[1] Stockton asserted that the exact method for elections was murky and varied from state to state. To keep this from happening again, Congress passed a law in 1866 regulating how and when Senators were to be elected from each state. This was the first change in the process of Senatorial elections. While the law helped, there were still deadlocks in some legislatures and accusations of bribery, corruption, and suspicious dealings in some elections. Nine bribery cases were brought before the Senate between 1866 and 1906, and 45 deadlocks occurred in 20 states between 1891 and 1905, resulting in numerous delays in seating Senators. In the worst case, Delaware failed to elect from March 1899 to March 1903; by the end of this period both of Delaware's seats were vacant for two years.[2]

Reform efforts began as early as 1826, when direct election was first proposed. In the 1870s, citizens petitioned the House of Representatives for direct election. From 1893 to 1902, support for direct election increased considerably. Each year during that period, a constitutional amendment for direct election was proposed in Congress, but the Senate rejected it. In the mid-1890s, the Populist Party put direct election of Senators in its platform, but neither the Democrats nor the Republicans paid much notice at the time.

Direct election was also part of the Wisconsin Idea championed by Republican Senators Robert M. La Follette, Sr., a progressive, and George W. Norris, a reformer. In the early 1900s, Oregon pioneered direct election of Senators. Oregon tried various procedures until success in 1907, and was soon followed by Nebraska.

Popular support of Senatorial election reform grew rapidly at this time. In 1905, William Randolph Hearst acquired Cosmopolitan (then a general-interest magazine), and made it an advocate of direct election. In 1906, Cosmopolitan published "The Treason of the Senate", a series of scathing articles by "Muckraking" reporter David Graham Phillips, which described Senators as corrupt pawns of industrialists and financiers.[3]

Increasingly, Senators were elected based on state referenda, similar to the means developed by Oregon. By 1912, as many as 29 states elected Senators either as nominees of party primaries, or in conjunction with a general election. These de facto directly elected Senators supported legislation to promote direct election, but to make direct election general, a constitutional amendment was required.

The Senate had consistently rejected the proposed amendment, and so direct election advocates acted through the states. Amendments to the Constitution are normally proposed by Congress, a two-thirds vote of both Houses being required. However, under Article V, two-thirds of the states may apply for the creation of a convention to proposed amendments and the Congress must then create one.

By 1910, almost two-thirds of the states had called for such a convention, which put pressure on the Congress to propose the amendment and eliminate the need for the convention.

Consequently, in 1911, Senator Joseph L. Bristow of Kansas submitted an amendment, supported by Senator William Borah of Idaho, himself a product of direct election. Eight Southern Senators and all of the Republican Senators from New England, New York and Pennsylvania opposed Bristow's amendment. However, the Senate now included many Senators recently chosen by de facto direct election, and they supported the amendment. The Senate passed the amendment on June 12, 1911.

The House debated for almost a year, and passed the amendment on May 13, 1912.

The campaign for ratification was led by Borah and other directly elected Senators. Another important figure was Professor George H. Haynes of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, a political scientist whose scholarly work on the Senate showed the need for direct election.

The amendment was ratified by three states within a month (Massachusetts, Arizona, and Minnesota). However, there was no further progress until 1913, when state legislators elected in 1912 took office. Nine states ratified in January 1913, seventeen in February, four in March, and three in April. On April 8, 1913, Connecticut became the 36th state (out of 48) to ratify, and the Seventeenth Amendment was adopted. Louisiana also ratified the amendment in June. Utah was the only state to reject the amendment explicitly.

The Seventeenth Amendment took effect a year and a half prior to the 1914 Senate elections.

Effect

The Seventeenth Amendment restates the first paragraph of Article I, § 3 of the Constitution, but replaces the phrase "chosen by the Legislature thereof" with "elected by the people thereof".

The amendment also supersedes part of the second paragraph of Article I, § 3. The phrase "and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies" is superseded by the second paragraph of the amendment.

Under the original language, when a Senate seat falls vacant, the legislature, which can act immediately, is expected to elect a replacement immediately. If the legislature is not in session, the governor may appoint a person to occupy the vacant seat, but that person serves only until the legislature meets, when it is expected to elect a permanent replacement immediately.

However, unlike election by the legislature, election of a replacement by popular vote takes a fair amount of time and cost, and may not be realistically possible. For instance, there may be only a few weeks or months left before the end of the present Senate term. Therefore, when and how popular elections of replacement Senators are held is up to the legislature. The replacement Senator appointed by the governor serves until the election specified by the legislature, if one is held, or else till the end of the term.

Several states have interpreted this passage as giving the legislature power to bar appointment by the governor, so that vacancies may only filled by election. As of 2010, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Wisconsin do not permit appointment by the governor.

The Seventeenth Amendment does not affect the restriction in Article I, § 4, cl. 1, which exempts "the place of Chusing Senators" from the power of Congress to "make or alter" state election laws. If Congress could regulate the "place of Chusing Senators" when the state legislatures chose Senators, then Congress could dictate where a state's legislature had to meet for that purpose, which would violate state sovereignty.

Direct elections held in the states

The following is a list of all direct elections to the Senate.[4]

Before ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment:
  • 1906: Oregon
    • Class 2, Vacancy, term ending 1907
    • Class 2, Full term, 1907–1913
  • 1908: Nevada
    • Class 3, Full term, 1909–1915
  • 1911: Arizona (pending statehood)
    • Class 1, Long term, 1912–1917
    • Class 3, Short term, 1912–1915
  • 1912: Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma
    • Class 2, Full term, 1913–1919
 After ratification of Seventeenth Amendment:
  • 1913: Maryland, Virginia
    • Class 1, Vacancy, term ending 1917
  • 1914: All 32 Class 3 Senators, term 1915-1921
  • 1916: All 32 Class 1 Senators, term 1917-1923
  • 1918: All 32 Class 2 Senators, term 1919-1925

Oklahoma, admitted to statehood in 1907, chose a Senator by legislative election three times: twice in 1907, when admitted, and once in 1908. In 1912, Oklahoma re-elected Robert L. Owen by advisory popular vote.

New Mexico, admitted to statehood in 1912, chose only its first two Senators legislatively.

Arizona, admitted to statehood in 1912, chose its first two Senators by advisory popular vote.

Alaska, and Hawaii, admitted to statehood in 1959, have never chosen a U.S. Senator legislatively.

Proposal and ratification

Congress proposed the Seventeenth Amendment on May 13, 1912 and the following states ratified the amendment:[5]

  1. Massachusetts (May 22, 1912)
  2. Arizona (June 3, 1912)
  3. Minnesota (June 10, 1912)
  4. New York (January 15, 1913)
  5. Kansas (January 17, 1913)
  6. Oregon (January 23, 1913)
  7. North Carolina (January 25, 1913)
  8. California (January 28, 1913)
  9. Michigan (January 28, 1913)
  10. Iowa (January 30, 1913)
  11. Montana (January 30, 1913)
  12. Idaho (January 31, 1913)
  13. West Virginia (February 4, 1913)
  14. Colorado (February 5, 1913)
  15. Nevada (February 6, 1913)
  16. Texas (February 7, 1913)
  17. Washington (February 7, 1913)
  18. Wyoming (February 8, 1913)
  19. Arkansas (February 11, 1913)
  20. Maine (February 11, 1913)
  21. Illinois (February 13, 1913)
  22. North Dakota (February 14, 1913)
  23. Wisconsin (February 18, 1913)
  24. Indiana (February 19, 1913)
  25. New Hampshire (February 19, 1913)
  26. Vermont (February 19, 1913)
  27. South Dakota (February 19, 1913)
  28. Oklahoma (February 24, 1913)
  29. Ohio (February 25, 1913)
  30. Missouri (March 7, 1913)
  31. New Mexico (March 13, 1913)
  32. Nebraska (March 14, 1913)
  33. New Jersey (March 17, 1913)
  34. Tennessee (April 1, 1913)
  35. Pennsylvania (April 2, 1913)
  36. Connecticut (April 8, 1913)

With the action of Connecticut, three-fourths of the states had ratified and ratification was completed. The amendment was subsequently ratified by the following state:

  1. Louisiana (June 11, 1913)

The following state rejected the amendment:

  1. Utah (February 26, 1913)

The following states have not ratified the amendment:

  1. Alabama
  2. Kentucky
  3. Mississippi
  4. Virginia
  5. South Carolina
  6. Georgia
  7. Maryland
  8. Delaware
  9. Rhode Island
  10. Florida

As Alaska and Hawaii were not yet states prior to the ratification of the amendment, their admission to the Union simply required their adherence to the Constitution in its already-amended form, at the time of their admissions in 1959.

Calls for complete repeal

Several advocates of federalism have called for the Seventeenth Amendment's repeal.[6] For example, then-U.S. Senator Zell Miller of Georgia, shortly after announcing his intention to retire from the Senate, made this statement from the Senate floor:

Direct elections of Senators … allowed Washington’s special interests to call the shots, whether it is filling judicial vacancies, passing laws, or issuing regulations.[7]

Libertarian author and economist Thomas DiLorenzo has characterized the Seventeenth Amendment as "one of the last nails to be pounded into the coffin of federalism in America."[8]

The amendment has been blamed, together with the Sixteenth Amendment, for greatly expanding the authority of the United States Congress in the 20th century.[9] Organizations have been created to support the amendment's complete repeal.[10]

In 2003, the Judiciary Committee of the Montana House of Representatives passed a resolution calling for the repeal of the Seventeenth Amendment by a vote of 6-3, but the resolution was defeated in the Montana Senate by a vote of 39-10.[11][12]

Calls for repeal of gubernatorial appointment option

Recent analysis

With the commencement of the Obama administration in 2009, four sitting Democratic Senators left the Senate for executive branch positions: Obama (President), Joe Biden (Vice President), Hillary Rodham Clinton (Secretary of State), and Ken Salazar (Secretary of the Interior).

Controversies developed about the successor appointments made by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and New York Governor David Paterson. This created interest in abolishing appointment by the governor.[13][14]

Currently, 46 of the 50 states permit appointment by the governor; only Connecticut, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Wisconsin rely completely on special election. After the death of Senator Ted Kennedy, Massachusetts changed its law to allow the governor to appoint an interim Senator.[15] In eight other states, the governor may fill a vacancy by appointment, but a special election is to be held as soon as possible. In the remaining 38 states, the governor may fill a vacancy by appointment, and the appointed Senator will serve until a replacement is chosen by election at the time of the next general election.

It has also been noted that since the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment, nearly one quarter of all Senators seated (182) first arrived in the Senate by appointment.[16][17]

Proposed amendment

In 2009, Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Representative David Dreier of California proposed an amendment to remove the power of governors to appoint Senators.[18][19][20] Senators John McCain and Dick Durbin became co-sponsors, as did Representative John Conyers.[13] On March 11, 2009, a joint hearing was held between the Senate and House subcommittees on the Constitution regarding S.J. Res. 7 and H.J. Res. 21.[21] On August 6, 2009, the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution held a separate hearing.[22]

Notes

  1. ^ U.S. Senate: Direct Election of Senators
  2. ^ Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U. S. Elections. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Inc. 1985. ISBN 0-87187-339-7.
  3. ^ In Washington, the anxiety of influence - International Herald Tribune
  4. ^ Dubin, Michael J. (1998). United States Congressional elections, 1788-1997: the official results of the elections of the 1st through 105th Congresses. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0283-0=.
  5. ^ Mount, Steve (January 2007). "Ratification of Constitutional Amendments". http://www.usconstitution.net/constamrat.html. Retrieved February 24, 2007.
  6. ^ Repeal 17th
  7. ^ National Review Online - Repeal the Seventeenth Amendment
  8. ^ Repeal the Seventeenth Amendment by Thomas DiLorenzo
  9. ^ On the BorderLine - Repeal the 17th Amendment
  10. ^ The Campaign to Restore Federalism
  11. ^ Text of resolution
  12. ^ Legislative actions on the resolution
  13. ^ a b "New Idea on Capitol Hill: To Join Senate, Get Votes" by Carl Hulse, The New York Times, March 10, 2009 (in print 3/11/09 p. A20 NY edition). Retrieved 3/11/09.
  14. ^ Senate Vacancies Raise Questions of Framers’ Intentions - Roll Call
  15. ^ ABC News
  16. ^ Segal, David (January 24, 2009). "Don’t Name That Senator". The New York Times. pp. WK11. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/opinion/25segal.html. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
  17. ^ "Senate Vacancies" press release "A FairVote Policy Perspective", January 29, 2009. Retrieved 3-11-09
  18. ^ Feingold, Russ. "S.J. Res. 7". http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.J.RES.7:. Retrieved 2009-02-03.
  19. ^ Dreier, David (February 11, 2009). "H.J. Res. 21". http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.J.RES.21:. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  20. ^ Feingold, Russ (January 29, 2009). "Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold on Constitutional Amendment Concerning Senate Vacancies". http://feingold.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=307525. Retrieved 2009-01-31.
  21. ^ Feingold, Russ (March 11, 2009). "Opening Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold on a Constitutional Amendment Concerning Senate Vacancies". http://feingold.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=309452. Retrieved 2009-03-19.
  22. ^ THOMAS (Library of Congress) All actions on S.J. Res. 7

See also

References

External links

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Categories: 1913 in law | Amendments to the United States Constitution | United States Senate | History of the United States (1865–1918) | Federalism in the United States | 1913 in the United States

 

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