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HJRES 21
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Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to the election of Senators.

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to the election of Senators.

Introduced Feb 11, 2009

Latest action (Mar 11, 2009) Committee Hearings Held.

Referred to
Constitution Subcommittee Judiciary Committee Judiciary Committee
Policy area
Government Operations and Politics
Issues
Voting & Elections
Legislative subjects (4)
Constitution and constitutional amendmentsElections, voting, political campaign regulationMembers of CongressSenate

Summary

This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment that would require all U.S. Senators to be elected by popular vote. It would mandate that when a Senate vacancy occurs, the state governor must issue writs of election to fill the seat through a special election rather than through gubernatorial appointment. The amendment would not affect any Senators already in office or in the process of being elected at the time the amendment becomes valid. The proposed amendment would need to be ratified by three-fourths of state legislatures within seven years to become part of the Constitution.

AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.

Sponsor (1)
8 cosponsors

Actions (5)
  1. Mar 11, 2009 Committee Hearings Held. · house
  2. Mar 11, 2009 Committee on the Judiciary. Joint hearings held Subcommittee on The Constitution and Subcommittee on The Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 111-203. · senate
  3. Mar 6, 2009 Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties. · house
  4. Feb 11, 2009 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. · house
  5. Feb 11, 2009 Introduced in House

More bills on these subjects (8)

Other bills that carry the most legislative subjects in common with this one (topical discovery — distinct from the procedural related bills above).

  • SJRES 7 — A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to the election of Senators. (shares 4 subjects)
  • SJRES 48 — A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to limit the number of terms an individual may serve as a Member of Congress. (shares 3 subjects)
  • S 51 — Washington, D.C. Admission Act (shares 3 subjects)
  • SJRES 1 — A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to limiting the number of terms that a Member of Congress may serve. (shares 3 subjects)
  • HR 51 — Washington, D.C. Admission Act (shares 3 subjects)
  • HJRES 5 — Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to limit the number of terms an individual may serve as a Member of Congress. (shares 3 subjects)
  • HRES 1424 — Expressing the profound sorrow of the House of Representatives on the death of the Honorable Lindsey Graham. (shares 2 subjects)
  • SRES 755 — A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable Donald W. Riegle, Jr., former Senator for the State of Michigan. (shares 2 subjects)

Similar bills (6)

Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.

  • SJRES 7 — A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to the election of Senators. · Introduced Aug 6, 2009 · Cong. 111 80%
  • SJRES 43 — A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to contributions and expenditures intended to affect elections. · Introduced Mar 27, 2025 · Cong. 119 79%
  • HJRES 121 — Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to contributions and expenditures intended to affect elections. · Introduced Sep 11, 2025 · Cong. 119 74%
  • SJRES 1 — A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to limiting the number of terms that a Member of Congress may serve. · Introduced Jan 7, 2025 · Cong. 119 69%
  • HJRES 196 — Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States regarding the right to vote. · Introduced Jun 11, 2026 · Cong. 119 67%
  • HJRES 6 — Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to provide for balanced budgets for the Government. · Introduced Jan 3, 2025 · Cong. 119 66%

Text versions (1)
  • Introduced in House · Feb 11, 2009

Only one text version is on file, so there’s no earlier version to compare against yet.

Full text

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

February 11, 2009

Mr. Dreier (for himself, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Smith of Texas, Mr. Sensenbrenner, and Mr. Pierluisi) introduced the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

JOINT RESOLUTION

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to the election of Senators.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years after the date of its submission for ratification:

“Article—

“Section 1. No person shall be a Senator from a State unless such person has been elected by the people thereof. 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. “Section 2. This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as a part of the Constitution.”. <all>

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