Associate Dean Amar Comments on 17th Amendment for Huffington Post

Vikram Amar, Associate Dean and Professor of Law at UC Davis School of Law, commented for the Huffington Post on legislation that would increase the role of state legislatures in the election of U.S. Senators. The American Legislative Exchange Council, which circulates model bills to state legislators and has fostered passage of voter ID laws and other measures, is considering support for laws that would enable a plurality of the state legislature to place senate candidates on the ballot.  The 17th Amendment established the direct election of U.S. Senators.

"It's an attempt to blunt the effects of the 17th Amendment by reinserting the state legislature and their views back into the process of electing U.S. senators," Amar said, stressing that this was his first "gut reaction" to seeing the bill. "By itself, it's not a full-fledged repeal or circumvention of the 17th Amendment ... but it's kind of an encroachment of the vision of the 17th Amendment."

Vikram Amar, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Law with the UC Davis School of Law, is a national authority in the fields of constitutional law, civil procedure, criminal procedure, and remedies. His biweekly column for Justia.com, a leading provider of online legal information, centers on his expertise in constitutional law.

Huffington Post