Classes in the United States Senate

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The classes in the United States Senate determine the election year the members of the Senate of the United States . The allocation of classes to the states is fixed and has not been changed since 1789. The Senate seats of newly admitted states are distributed among the classes so that they remain the same size as possible.

General

Each state is in the Congress represented by two senators who normally for a term of office are elected for six years. The United States Constitution provides that a third of the Senate is elected every two years. To achieve this, each senator belongs to one of three classes. Since 1914, the election has taken place in November of every even year, the term of office begins and ends at the beginning of the following year.

Since the 17th Amendment came into force in 1913, the senators have been elected directly by the people. This was the case for the first time in the 1914 election. Previously, the constitution stipulated that the senators would be determined by the parliament of the respective state, although some states held a general election to determine the senators a few years before 1913, the result of which was only confirmed by the state parliament.

If a Senate seat becomes vacant because the incumbent dies, resigns or is removed from office, a successor is elected for the remaining term of office. Whether this election takes place together with the next congressional election or a separate election is held as soon as possible is regulated differently in the states. Where the election is not held immediately, the governor usually has the right to appoint a successor. Whether he is completely free or has to appoint a candidate from the same party to which the retired senator belonged is also regulated differently.

Initial composition and new states

Article 1, Section 3 of the United States Constitution stated that when Senators were first elected, they would be divided into three classes. The term of office of Senators for Class I should be two years, for Class II four years and for Class III six years. By then, only 20 senators from 10 states had been elected because North Carolina and Rhode Island had not yet ratified the constitution, and New York had not yet elected any senators because the electoral law required for this had not yet been passed.

A committee made up of the three Senators Charles Carroll (Maryland), Oliver Ellsworth (Connecticut) and William Few (Georgia) arbitrarily divided the senators into three groups of seven, seven and six senators so that the senators of a state belonged to two different groups . Then a senator from each group drew a lot, which determined the group's affiliation to one of the three classes.

If the Union accepts another state, its senators will draw a ballot after the election to determine which class belongs to which class. The Senate seats of newly admitted states are distributed among the classes so that they remain the same size as possible. Should the USA accept a 51st state, its senators would be in classes I and II. This means that at least one of the new senators has a first term of office that is shorter than six years.

If both senators of a state stand for election at the same time (due to a vacancy or in the case of a newly admitted state), the elections are still carried out separately. Before the ratification of the 17th Amendment, this was handled differently in some states, when the two candidates with the most votes counted when elected, with the first-placed candidate being assigned to the class with the longer remaining term of office.

The three classes

Countries that always have both election dates in common are shown in the same color, green: classes 1 and 2, purple: classes 1 and 3, blue: classes 2 and 3

Since every state has two senators, but the states are different in size, and the classes are randomly assigned, the different classes represent different proportions of the US population. As of the early 19th century, Class II has only represented about 50% to 60% of the U.S. population, while Classes I and III each represent about 70% to 75% of the population (since each state has two Senators, the total is 200 %). That's because several populous states, such as California, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, elect Class I and III senators.

Class I.

Class I is the one whose members began in 1789 with two-year terms. The following elections took place or will take place in November of those years that show a remainder of 2 when divided by 6, i.e. 1790, 1796 ..., 2000, 2006, 2012, 2018, 2024, 2030 etc. Class I currently includes 33 Senators (green or purple on the map), namely one senator each from Arizona , Connecticut , Delaware , Florida , Hawaii , Indiana , California , Maine , Maryland , Massachusetts , Michigan , Minnesota , Mississippi , Missouri , Montana , Nebraska , Nevada , New Jersey , New Mexico , New York , North Dakota , Ohio , Pennsylvania , Rhode Island , Tennessee , Texas , Utah , Vermont , Virginia , Washington , West Virginia , Wisconsin, and Wyoming .

Of the 33 Class I Senators, 21 are currently Democrats and 10 Republicans ; Added to this are the independent Bernie Sanders from Vermont , who was elected with the support of the Democrats, and Angus King from Maine, another independent who also belongs to the Democratic group. (As of August 2020)

Class II

Class II is the class whose members began four-year terms in 1789. The following elections took place or will take place in November of those years with a remainder of 4 when dividing by 6, i.e. 1792, 1798 ..., 2002, 2008, 2014, 2020, 2026 etc. Class II currently includes 33 senators ( green or blue on the map), namely one senator each from Alabama , Alaska , Arkansas , Colorado , Delaware , Georgia , Idaho , Illinois , Iowa , Kansas , Kentucky , Louisiana , Maine , Massachusetts , Michigan , Minnesota , Mississippi , Montana , Nebraska , New Hampshire , New Jersey , New Mexico , North Carolina , Oklahoma , Oregon , Rhode Island , South Carolina , South Dakota , Tennessee , Texas , Virginia , West Virginia, and Wyoming .

Of the 33 Class II senators, 12 are currently from the Democratic Party and 21 are Republicans. (As of August 2020)

Class III

Class III is the one whose members began with six-year terms in 1789. The following elections took place or will take place in November of those years that are divisible by 6, i.e. 1794, 1800 ..., 2004, 2010, 2016, 2022, 2028 etc. Class III currently includes 34 senators (purple or blue on the map ), namely one Senator each from Alabama , Alaska , Arizona , Arkansas , Colorado , Connecticut , Florida , Georgia , Hawaii , Idaho , Illinois , Indiana , Iowa , California , Kansas , Kentucky , Louisiana , Maryland , Missouri , Nevada , New Hampshire , New York , North Carolina , North Dakota , Ohio , Oklahoma , Oregon , Pennsylvania , South Carolina , South Dakota , Utah , Vermont , Washington, and Wisconsin .

Of the 34 Class III senators, 12 are currently from the Democratic Party and 22 are Republicans. (As of August 2020)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ State Houses Elect Senators on senate.gov, accessed August 10, 2020
  2. ↑ a b Senators Receive Class Assignments on senate.gov, called August 10, 2020