The Utah Senate passed a resolution Wednesday that calls upon Congress to repeal the 17th Amendment, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. Such a proposal would result in U.S. senators being appointed by state legislatures instead of being elected by popular vote. The 17th Amendment, allowing for the popular election of U.S. senators, was passed in 1913. According to the language of SJR2, this “resulted in the increased power of the federal government over the individual states.” The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Alvin Jackson, R-Highland, told the Tribune, “This is about restoring power back to the states.”
The idea to elect senators by popular vote received support in the late 19th century when state legislatures would deadlock over the election of senators, according to the National Archive, leading to U.S. Senate vacancies sometimes lasting several years.
According to an NPR report from 2014, returning that power to legislators would often result in a Republican majority in the U.S. Senate, and past proponents of repealing the 17th Amendment include current presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, and Utah Sen. Mike Lee.
Full Article: Utah Senate passes resolution to repeal 17th Amendment in states’ rights push.