Seventeenth Amendment - Direct Election of Senators
Voters elect senators directly instead of state legislatures choosing them. This ended decades of corruption where wealthy interests bribed legislators for Senate seats. [William Clark spent an estimated $272,000 bribing Montana legislators in 1899](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Andrews_Clark). Ratified [April 8, 1913](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventeenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution).
Original 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 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.
Senators are now elected directly by voters in each state, replacing the original system in which state legislatures chose them. If a seat becomes vacant mid-term, the governor can appoint a temporary replacement until a special election fills it—though state laws vary on when that election must occur.
The Seventeenth Amendment changed how senators are chosen—not how many each state gets. Two senators per state, regardless of population, was locked in by Article I and entrenched by Article V. The amendment didn't touch that structure. Small states still hold equal Senate power as large ones. The Seventeenth Amendment only changed the method of selection—from legislative appointment to popular election.
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Key Concepts0/6
Historical Context
State legislatures chose senators for 125 years under the original constitutional design. The system broke down repeatedly. Delaware's legislature deadlocked from 1895 to 1899, deadlocking over 217 ballots and leaving the seat vacant for two years. Corruption became routine: Montana copper magnate William Andrews Clark spent an estimated $272,000 bribing state legislators to win a Senate seat in 1899. The Senate ultimately refused to seat him, and the scandal became a national story. Progressive reformers demanded direct election. By 1912, [29 states had adopted informal popular-vote primaries](https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/amendment-17/) for Senate candidates that effectively bypassed legislative selection, demonstrating the system was already collapsing. Congress submitted the Seventeenth Amendment to the states, and it was ratified on [April 8, 1913](https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/amendment-17/). The amendment changed the method of choosing senators while leaving the Article I equal-state structure entirely intact. The Great Compromise's guarantee of two senators per state—regardless of population—was protected by Article V before ratification and remained protected after it. Critics of the amendment often conflate the selection method (which changed) with the equal-representation structure (which didn't).
How This Shows Up Today
- Senate elections every six years
- Gubernatorial appointments for vacancies
- State laws on special elections
Discussion Questions4
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