Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy > Vol 6 > Issue 1

Building a Record: Amending Activity, Position Taking, and the Seventeenth Amendment

Jamie L. Carson, Department of Political Science, University of Georgia, USA, carson@uga.edu , Anthony J. Madonna, Department of Political Science, University of Georgia, USA, ajmadonn@uga.edu , Mark E. Owens, Department of Political Science, The Citadel, USA, mowens6@citadel.edu , Joel Sievert, Department of Political Science, Texas Tech University, USA, joel.sievert@ttu.edu , Ryan D. Williamson, School of Politics, Public Affairs, & International Studies, University of Wyoming, USA, ryan.williamson@uwyo.edu
 
Suggested Citation
Jamie L. Carson, Anthony J. Madonna, Mark E. Owens, Joel Sievert and Ryan D. Williamson (2025), "Building a Record: Amending Activity, Position Taking, and the Seventeenth Amendment", Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy: Vol. 6: No. 1, pp 85-104. http://dx.doi.org/10.1561/113.00000118

Publication Date: 02 Apr 2025
© 2025 J. L. Carson et al.
 
Subjects
American political development,  Congress,  Elections,  Electoral behavior,  Electoral institutions,  Government,  Lawmaking,  Legislatures,  Parliamentary politics,  Political history,  Representation
 
Keywords
17th AmendmentSenate procedureamendmentselectoral connectioninstitutional development
 

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In this article:
Member Behavior and the Electoral Connection 
Position Taking and the Seventeenth Amendment 
Descriptive Statistics 
Empirical Analysis 
Results 
Conclusion 
References 

Abstract

Reelection is frequently viewed as the most important goal for members of Congress, and to be reelected, members take positions that are in line with that of their constituencies. We argue that position taking behavior of United States senators should have changed to accommodate a new electoral constituency after the adoption of the Seventeenth Amendment. Specifically, we look at amending activity by members of Congress before and after the adoption of the Seventeenth Amendment. By offering amendments on the floor, members can ensure certain issues get discussed and solidify their positions with their constituents. To examine our hypotheses, we examine a dataset of all amendments that received a roll call vote in either chamber from the 59th (1905–1907) to the 68th Congress (1923–1925). Our results provide support for our theoretical claims.

DOI:10.1561/113.00000118