U.S. Senator Jessica Martin
Originally, Senators were elected by the state legislatures, not by the citizens. Direct election was established in 1913 by the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. There are two senators per state to keep checks and balances. The senator that has been there longest in each state is known as the "senior senator" and the other is the "junior senator". This doesn’t have any official significance however.
Each senator serves a term of six years. The terms are changed around so that one-third of the senate seats are up for election every two years. The Senate elections are held on the first Tuesday of November on even-numbered years. Once a senator is elected, they serve their full term or until death or resignation. The senate may expel any member by a two-thirds vote. There have been 15 senators expelled in the history of the Senate.
There are three qualifications for a U.S. Senator which are: each senator must be at least 30 years old, must have been a United States citizen for at least the past nine years, and must be an inhabitant of the state they seek to represent at the time of the election. The Senate is the sole judge of a Senator’s qualifications.
The Senate has a Senate Calendar which identifies bills and resolutions awaiting Senate floor actions. There is also an Executive Calendar which identifies executive resolutions, treaties, and nominations reported out by Senate committees and awaiting Senate floor action. They are updated each day the Senate is in session. A day in the Senate starts with a speech to convene and ends with a speech to adjourn. Senators debate and give speeches about bills and policies. No senator may make more than two speeches on a motion or bill on the same legislative day. Once the debate is over the question in motion is to be voted on. Senators vote “aye” or “no” and the presiding officer announces the vote.
There is a...