The Seventeenth Amendment (Amendment XVII) to the United States Constitution passed the Senate on June 12, 1911, the House of Representatives on May 13, 1912 and the states completed ratification on April 8, 1913. The amendment supersedes Article I, § 3, Clauses 1 and 2 of the Constitution, transferring Senator selection from each state's legislature to popular election by the people of each state. It also provides a contingency provision enabling a state's governor, if so authorized by his state's legislature, to appoint a Senator in the event of a Senate vacancy until either a special or regular election to elect a new Senator is held.
|Contents |
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|1 Text |
|2 Historical background |
|3 Effect |
|4 Direct elections held in the states |
|5 Proposal and ratification |
|6 Calls for repeal |
|6.1 Feingold hearing |
|7 Notes |
|8 References |
|9 External links |
[pic][edit] 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 each State shall|...