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The 17th amendment to the US Constitution requires senators to be elected by popular vote and provides changes to filling mid-term vacancies. It replaced an earlier article that required state legislatures to elect senators. Prior to the amendment, state legislatures elected senators to prevent uninformed voters from electing unqualified candidates. The concept of direct election was introduced in 1820 and finally passed as the 17th amendment in 1913.
The 17th amendment is an amendment to the United States Constitution. It requires US senators to be elected by popular vote and was written to replace an earlier article that required individual state legislatures to elect US senators. It also provides changes to the method for filling mid-term vacancies. It was promulgated on April 8, 1913.
Article One, Section Three of the United States Constitution establishes the original laws concerning the United States Senate. This includes providing two senators per state, each with a six-year term and each with one vote. It also provides that these senators are elected by the legislature of the state they represent. The 17th amendment provides for the same number of senators and votes, and the same length of office, but changes the popular vote method of election of the people, or electors. It also requires that such voters must meet voting qualifications, which should include qualifications such as age and residency.
Prior to the 17th Amendment, the intent of state legislatures in electing Senators was to prevent uninformed voters from electing an unqualified or unethical candidate simply because he or she made good speeches or made great promises. The writers of the constitution believed that elected officials, who had experience with the ways and strategies of politics, would be less likely to succumb to candidates whose qualifications consisted more in glamor than substance. They also thought such elected officials would be above the bribes, side deals, and scare tactics that might be used by some seeking a Senate seat. It was also considered that Senators should be free from the stress of campaigning so they can focus on governing.
Such a process was generally believed to have worked quite well up until the mid-1850s. The issue of slavery and the associated increase in factionalism and general disagreement is often attributed to the failure of the old system of Senate elections. Several states have simply failed to elect Senators for years at a time, making them under or unrepresented in the Senate. Several elections have also been contested on the basis of electoral methodology.
In 1866, Congress passed a law to help control the method of elections. This law is often considered the forerunner of the 17th amendment, but while it helped, it didn’t help much. Meanwhile, the concept of direct election, which is the election of the people, was rapidly gaining acceptance.
First introduced in 1820, the first constitutional amendment providing for direct election was proposed in 1893. Each subsequent year, through 1903, such an amendment was proposed in Congress and rejected by the Senate. The direct election of United States Senators, and a corresponding process to fill vacancies, was finally passed as the 17th Amendment in 1913, nearly 100 years after it was first proposed.
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