The Representation Amendment Leaves Senate Make-up Unchanged in 2020

Following ratification of the Representation Amendment, the legislatures of each state elect members of the United States Senate. At this time, the Republican party holds the majority in more than half the nation’s state legislatures. If all senators were elected every two years, the Senate would most likely have a comfortable Republican majority.  However, only a third of Senatorial seats come up for election every other year. Sometimes, a special election to fill an empty seat for the remainder of a term increases the number of open Senate seats, as occurred in Georgia this year.

So, if the state legislatures picked senators to represent the state in Washington, D.C., what might have changed?

First, the two seats in Georgia would most likely go to the Republicans, as the Republicans hold the majority in both chambers of the legislature. States would not need run-off elections for the Senate, as in happening now in Georgia. The people would know much earlier who their legislators have elected. However, if the legislature selects a person just elected to the House, that seat must be filled according to the laws of the state, which might mean a special election.

Overall, the make-up of the Senate would likely remain the same in the 2020 election. Michigan and Alabama might flip to Republican and Maine and Colorado might flip to Democrat. That’s a wash. I suspect Minnesota would stay Democrat. That being the case, if the voting population is more interested in which party holds the seat than which individual holds the seat, at least in this election cycle, the Senate stays the same as in the previous cycle. Your legislature might not choose the same person you would choose, but would probably choose a person from the party you want (if you are in the majority, of course!).

The manner in which voters select United States senators changes under the Representation Amendment, but the change is for the better. The states gain critical representation in federal legislative negotiations. In the 2020 election cycle, at least, the net effect on the Senate party make-up is minimal. In other cycles, the effect may be more pronounced. However, in future elections, the people of the states have the power to alter the make-up of the Senate by altering the make-up of their state legislatures.

Read The Representation Amendment (Because we don’t have enough people in Congress and the people already there are the wrong ones) to learn more about the Representation Amendment.