Amendment XVII

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.

Plain English
Senators are elected by popular votes. Each state has two senators who will be in office for six years. In the event that a senator leaves office before the end of his or her term, the executive authority of the state can appoint a temporary senator.

Background

This amendment was passed on June 12th, 1911. Before then, state legislatures had elected Senators. The opinion that the Senators should be elected by the people had been presented for decades. During this time period, Progressivism - the political movement dedicated towards pushing government towards reform - was popular, and the passage of this amendment was a big victory for Progressivism. People saw this as an end to corruption in state legislatures. The Framers sought to protect state independence, thus they were against this amendment; however, by the 19th century, such Progressivism gained popularity and ultimately succeeded.

Effect on The U.S.

This protects a certain type of balance within Congress. The House members are based on state inhabitant proportion, so having a set 2 Senators per state allows for the smaller states to regain a bigger voice. The policy of electing Senators also allows a fuller democracy, with more involvement from the people on choosing which people to represent them while deciding important policies for the country.

Personal Opinions/Effect on us

As an 18-year-old, I like this amendment. By changing the election of senators to popular vote only provides new voters like me another opportunity to get involved. I think the main issue with this amendment depends on the amount of knowledge we have for the candidates. The good side of having state legislature appointed senators is that the legislature probably knows more about politics and these candidates then the average voters. While doing the representative project, I for one had no idea who my rep was. If I didn’t have to do a project on him, I probably would still not know who he is now. I think there is a lack involvement between government officials and voters. Allowing people to vote for their own senators can either encourage people to look more into politics or they might just vote randomly or not vote at all.