The Seventeenth Amendment to the US Constitution
The Direct Election of United States Senators
Aug 19, 2009
The Founding Fathers were suspicious of too much majority rule. They created circumstances were different elements of the government were chosen in different ways. This was designed to see that competing interests would balance each other in the governance of the country.
Different Election Methods for House and Senate Members
To that end, in creating the Congress, two different methods were chosen to elect the members of the House of Representatives and the Senate. House members were chosen by direct election of the people. Senate members were chosen by the State legislatures. The original constitutional provision for Senate elections is in Article I, Section 3 and reads as follows:
“The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.”
By giving the legislatures the power to choose US Senators, the Constitution gave Senators a different constituency than it gave to Congressmen. In the original Senate, each Senator was selected by his state legislature and was, thus, accountable to the state legislators and inextricably linked to that State's legislative leadership. Congressmen on the other hand being directly elected by the people were accountable to the residents of their district.
This was designed to provide protection from the threat of tyranny of the majority during times when popular temporary passions might result in unwise governance. Also, there was the thought that by making Senators accountable to legislatures, they would protect the interests of the States. The Seventeenth Amendment eventually changed all that.
Movements Towards Direct Election of Senators
There was movement to change the Senatorial election system as early as 1826. Over the years a number of problems developed in the system as many State legislatures were deadlocked over the Senate choice resulting in vacancies. Many States ultimately dealt with these issues themselves by developing a system of referenda where the legislature was bound to elect the winner of a popular primary or election. By 1911 29 States had such a system in place.
Seventeenth Amendment Ratified
Sending an amendment to the States for ratification requires a two-thirds vote of each house of Congress. Though amendments had been proposed over the years, gaining support of two-thirds of the Senate was difficult as most Senators had been chosen by the legislative system. However, as the States had changed their own systems, more Senators had been popularly chosen and on May 13, 1912 sent the following to the States for ratification:
“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.”
When Connecticut ratified on April 8, 1913, becoming the thirty-sixth State to do so, the Seventeenth Amendment became part of the Constitution.
Seventeenth Amendment and Rod Blagojevich
Issues involving the Seventeenth Amendment were in the news in late 2008 and early 2009 as a result of the controversial appointment by criminally charged and soon to be impeached Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The Senate leadership indicated they were unwilling to seat the governor’s choice, Roland Burris, but later recanted.
The Seventeenth Amendment along with Illinois law gave Blagojevich unfettered authority to appoint Burris to fill the seat vacated by Barack Obama, and ultimately Burris was sworn in as a United States Senator.
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