The Seventeenth Amendment

"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 changed the way Senators are chosen, and also set up a procedure for selecting a new Senator if something was to happen to the one in office. Before this Amendment Senators were chosen by their State legislators. After this Amendment Senators were chosen by a popular vote of the citizens in their own State. I agree with Congress that the popular vote is the best way to select a Senator, but I also understand that the founders were trying to split all the powers in government up. Representatives were already being chosen by a popular vote in the State so they gave the power to the State legislature so that no one group has all the power.

This is a Senator of Missouri named Roy Blunt that I helped vote in with the popular vote. I believe that every high ranking government official should be chosen by the people in a Democratic government. The only issue I see with this system is "incumbency", which makes it very hard for someone who is not already in the Senate to be elected.