Direct election of Senators
Official text rightpowerlimitif conditionlegal term
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 in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for 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.
Proposal and ratification: The seventeenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States was proposed to the legislatures of the several States by the Sixty-second Congress on the 13th of May, 1912, and was declared, in a proclamation of the Secretary of State, dated the 31st of May, 1913, to have been ratified by the legislatures of 36 of the 48 States. was completed on April 8, 1913.
Simplified explanation
The Senate is composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people for six years, each with one vote. The State executive issues writs of election to fill vacancies, and the legislature may empower the executive to make temporary appointments.