WASHINGTON — Leading lawmakers want to close what they see as a lingering century-old loophole in the 17th Amendment’s demand that each state’s senators be “elected by the people thereof.”
The calls are being fueled by this year’s flurry of tangled appointments to the Senate, which now counts four new members who have yet to face election. A group led by Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., is pushing a constitutional change that would require that vacancies be filled only by election, bringing the Senate in line with the House tradition that no one be allowed in without first getting past the voting public.
But Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., said that a ban on appointments could deprive a state of Senate representation for an extended time.
“In general, it appears to me that leaving it up to the states is the right thing to do,” Bennet said. “Some states are going to decide they want to have a special election; other states may decide they want the governor to make the appointment. There are virtues to both.”
