Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

1913 amendment establishing the direct election of senators

The Seventeenth Amendment in the National Archives

The Seventeenth Amendment ( Amendment XVII) to the United States Constitution established the direct election of United States senators in each state. The amendment supersedes Article I, Section 3, Clauses 1 and2 of the Constitution, under which senators were appointed by state legislatures. It also alters the procedure for filling vacancies in the Senate, allowing for state legislatures to permit their governors to make temporary appointments until a special election can be held.

The amendment was proposed by the 62nd Congress in 1912 and became part of the Constitution upon ratification by three quarters (36) of the state legislatures: on April 8, 1913. Sitting senators were not affected until their existing terms expired. The transition began with two special elections in Georgia[1] and in Maryland, then in earnest with the November 1914 election; it was complete on March 4, 1919, when the senators chosen by the November 1918 election took office.

Ratification by the states

Original ratifier of amendment

Ratified after adoption

Rejected amendment

No action taken on amendment

Having been passed by Congress, the amendment was sent to the states for ratification and was ratified by:[41]

1. Massachusetts: May 22, 1912

2. Arizona: June 3, 1912

3. Minnesota: June 10, 1912

4. New York: January 15, 1913

5. Kansas: January 17, 1913

6. Oregon: January 23, 1913

7. North Carolina: January 25, 1913

8. California: January 28, 1913

9. Michigan: January 28, 1913

10. Iowa: January 30, 1913

11. Montana: January 30, 1913

12. Idaho: January 31, 1913

13. West Virginia: February 4, 1913

14. Colorado: February 5, 1913

15. Nevada: February 6, 1913

16. Texas: February 7, 1913

17. Washington: February 7, 1913

18. Wyoming: February 8, 1913

19. Arkansas: February 11, 1913

20. Maine: February 11, 1913

21. Illinois: February 13, 1913

22. North Dakota: February 14, 1913

23. Wisconsin: February 18, 1913

24. Indiana: February 19, 1913

25. New Hampshire: February 19, 1913

26. Vermont: February 19, 1913

27. South Dakota: February 19, 1913

28. Oklahoma: February 24, 1913

29. Ohio: February 25, 1913

30. Missouri: March 7, 1913

31. New Mexico: March 13, 1913

32. Nebraska: March 14, 1913

33. New Jersey: March 17, 1913

34. Tennessee: April 1, 1913

35. Pennsylvania: April 2, 1913

36. Connecticut: April 8, 1913

    With 36 states having ratified the Seventeenth Amendment, it was certified by Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan on May 31, 19