Saturday, December 5, 2009
The 17th Amendment
1 comments"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."
The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified in 1913, and overruled Article 1, Section 3, clauses 1 and 2 of the Constitution, which granted the power of Senatorial selection to state legislators. The 17th amendment transferred that power from the state legislators to the people through regular elections. This amendment also provided the "executive authority of each state" (the governators) to issue "writs of election" to fill sudden and unexpected vacancies in the middle of a Senator's term, as long as the legislature of the respective state empowers the governor to make such temporary appointments in the sudden absence of a Senator during his/her term. This appointment is temporary and ends upon the peoples' election of a new Senator as directed by the legislature. The amendment concludes by noting that in no way may this amendment be "construed" to manipulate, alter, or affect in any way the election or term of any Senator chosen before such manipulation is appropriately ratified as an amendment to the Constitution.
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EDITORIAL: Filling Senate vacancies should be left to the voters
Wednesday, December 2, 2009 1:17 PM EST
When Jon Corzine was elected governor four years ago, vacating his U.S. Senate seat, it seemed pretty clear that he would replace himself with a member of his own party.
But what would happen if one of New Jersey’s two U.S. Senators — Democrats Frank Lautenberg or Robert Menendez — were to leave office after Christopher Christie is sworn in as governor in January? Who would the Republican choose to fill the vacancy and for how long?
Under current law, the governor either can call a special election or appoint a replacement who will serve until the next general election. The winner of the election would then serve out the remainder of the unexpired term.
The process is similar to what occurs at the local level — with one basic difference. Local governing bodies are required to respect the will of the electorate and fill council and committee vacancies, on a temporary basis, with someone from the same party. The governor, however, is not.
And that has Democrats concerned. Sen. Lautenberg will be 86 in January and will turn 90 before his term expires in 2014. While the senator sought to downplay apprehensions about his age during his 2008 re-election campaign, only Robert Byrd of West Virginia is older and only a few sitting senators have served into their 90s.
But what would happen if one of New Jersey’s two U.S. Senators — Democrats Frank Lautenberg or Robert Menendez — were to leave office after Christopher Christie is sworn in as governor in January? Who would the Republican choose to fill the vacancy and for how long?
Under current law, the governor either can call a special election or appoint a replacement who will serve until the next general election. The winner of the election would then serve out the remainder of the unexpired term.
The process is similar to what occurs at the local level — with one basic difference. Local governing bodies are required to respect the will of the electorate and fill council and committee vacancies, on a temporary basis, with someone from the same party. The governor, however, is not.
And that has Democrats concerned. Sen. Lautenberg will be 86 in January and will turn 90 before his term expires in 2014. While the senator sought to downplay apprehensions about his age during his 2008 re-election campaign, only Robert Byrd of West Virginia is older and only a few sitting senators have served into their 90s.
This is the backdrop of the legislation being proposed by Assemblyman John F. McKeon, D-Essex. His bill, A4271, would require vacancies to be filled within 30 days by someone of the same political party as the senator who left office, who would then serve until the next general election, and eliminate the potential for a special election.
Republicans are crying foul. State Senate Majority Leader Tom Kean Jr., who was defeated by Sen. Menendez for the U.S. Senate seat in 2006, called it a “partisan game,” according to The Star-Ledger.
”The majority party is simply looking to change the rules when they start losing, “the Union County Republican said.
Assemblyman McKeon says the legislation would save an estimated $10 million and “ensure that New Jersey continues to have full representation in Washington” and that the appointment would “honor the will of the electorate by requiring that the appointee be from the same political party as the U.S. Senator elected by voters.”
And, just as importantly, he says, it would put in place the same process used to fill vacancies that occur at other levels of government in New Jersey — which is not exactly accurate.
Vacancies in the House of Representatives can be filled only by special election, as per the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution, however, leaves it to the states to determine how best to fill Senate vacancies — a remnant of its original requirement that senators be appointed by state legislatures. That changed in 1913, when the 17th amendment was ratified and voters were empowered to directly elect senators. The amendment, however, did not address the question of a Senate vacancy, leaving it to each state to decide how best to proceed.
That was a mistake. Vacancies in the Senate should be filled by special election, as they are in the House, and we would endorse a constitutional amendment to put this in place.
In the meantime, the McKeon bill should be killed and legislation mandating special elections in New Jersey should be proposed in its place.
After all, the only way to respect the will of the voters is to let the voters have their say.
Republicans are crying foul. State Senate Majority Leader Tom Kean Jr., who was defeated by Sen. Menendez for the U.S. Senate seat in 2006, called it a “partisan game,” according to The Star-Ledger.
”The majority party is simply looking to change the rules when they start losing, “the Union County Republican said.
Assemblyman McKeon says the legislation would save an estimated $10 million and “ensure that New Jersey continues to have full representation in Washington” and that the appointment would “honor the will of the electorate by requiring that the appointee be from the same political party as the U.S. Senator elected by voters.”
And, just as importantly, he says, it would put in place the same process used to fill vacancies that occur at other levels of government in New Jersey — which is not exactly accurate.
Vacancies in the House of Representatives can be filled only by special election, as per the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution, however, leaves it to the states to determine how best to fill Senate vacancies — a remnant of its original requirement that senators be appointed by state legislatures. That changed in 1913, when the 17th amendment was ratified and voters were empowered to directly elect senators. The amendment, however, did not address the question of a Senate vacancy, leaving it to each state to decide how best to proceed.
That was a mistake. Vacancies in the Senate should be filled by special election, as they are in the House, and we would endorse a constitutional amendment to put this in place.
In the meantime, the McKeon bill should be killed and legislation mandating special elections in New Jersey should be proposed in its place.
After all, the only way to respect the will of the voters is to let the voters have their say.
I chose this article because it is someone's opinion about how vacancies should be filled.
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I chose this video because this person believes that the 17th Amendment should be repealed.
December 07, 2009 4:09 AM
As much as I like having the ability to vote for my Senators, the dude in this video does have a point in that giving us the right to vote for senators does imbalance what the Constitution originally said.