U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for April 8

WASHINGTON, April 8, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

POPULAR DEMAND

Profile America —Wednesday, April 8th. On this date 102 years ago, the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified establishing direct popular election of senators. Previously, members of the Senate were elected by each state's legislature. As the voting franchise expanded after the Civil War and into the Progressive Era, growing sentiment held that senators ought to be popularly elected in the same manner as representatives. In fact, because of such developments, at least 29 states by 1913 were nominating senators on a popular basis for the legislatures to approve. In the Presidential election of 2012, just under 62 percent of registered voters cast their ballots. In 2008, not quite 64 percent voted. In non-Presidential elections, voting has fluctuated between 45 and 50 percent. Profile America is completing its 18^th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sources:
Amendment and ratification:
http://www.usconstitution.net/xconst_Am17.html 
Background:
http://constitution.findlaw.com/amendment17/amendment.html 
Voting/Table A-1:
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/socdemo/voting/publications/historical/index.html 

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button). 

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SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau

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