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Contested Senate Elections |
The U.S. Constitution gives each house of Congress the power to be the judge of the "elections, returns, and qualifications of its members." Since 1789, the Senate has closely guarded this prerogative, and has developed its own procedures for judging the qualifications of its members in contested elections.
Originally, senators were elected by the state legislatures. The Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1913, established direct popular election of senators. Under both the new and the old system, the Constitution permits state governors to make temporary appointments to fill Senate vacancies.
Election disputes reviewed by the Senate have fallen into several general categories. During the sectional conflicts prior to the Civil War, and in the war's aftermath as former Confederate states rejoined the Union, questions arose regarding the state legislatures' legal authority to elect. Later in the 19th century and into the early 20th century, corrupt use of money in elections became an issue. Since 1913, campaign expenditures, demands for recounts in close elections, and complaints of election irregularities or fraud have constituted the dominant issues.
Election Laws
Senate Procedure in Contested Elections
Types of Election Cases
Vacancies
Election
Year | State | Contestants | Date Resolved | Result |
1826 | NJ | Ephraim Bateman | May 22, 1828 | Retained Seat |
1833 | RI | Asher Robbins v. Elisha R. Potter | May 27, 1834 | Robbins Retained Seat |
1851 | FL | Stephen R. Mallory v. David L. Yulee | Aug 27, 1852 | Mallory Retained Seat |
1855 | IA | James Harlan1 | Jan. 12, 1857 | Unseated |
1856 | PA | Simon Cameron | Mar 13, 1857 | Seated |
1857 | IN | Graham Fitch v. William M. McCarty; Jesse Bright v. Henry S. Lane | Feb 14, 1859 | Fitch & Bright Seated |
1865 | NJ | John P. Stockton | Mar 27, 1865 | Unseated |
1867 | KS | Samuel Pomeroy | Mar 24, 1873 | Not Expelled; Term Ended |
1870/
1872 | NC | Matt W. Ransom v. Joseph C. Abbott | Apr 24, 1872 | Ransom Seated |
1871 | AL | George Goldthwaite | Jan 15, 1872 | Seated |
1871 | KS | Alexander Caldwell2 | Mar 24, 1873 | Not Expelled; Resigned |
1873 | MO | Lewis V. Bogy | Mar 25, 1873 | Retained Seat |
1877 | OR | La Fayette Grover | June 15, 1878 | Retained Seat |
1879 | KS | John J. Ingalls | Feb 17, 1880 | Retained Seat |
1881 | NY | Warner Miller; Elbridge G. Lapham | Dec 13, 1881 | Retained Seats |
1884 | OH | Henry B. Payne | July 23, 1886 | Retained Seat |
1887 | IN | David Turpie | May 15, 1888 | Retained Seat |
1890/
1891 | ID | Fred T. Dubois v. William H. Clagett | Mar 3, 1892 | Dubois Retained Seat |
1891 | FL | Wilkinson Call v. R. H. M. Davidson | Feb 4, 1892 | Call Retained Seat |
1893 | KS | John Martin v. Joseph W. Ady | Jan 31, 1895 | Martin Retained Seat |
1895 | DE | Henry A. du Pont | Mar 1, 1897 | Not Seated |
1897 | DE | Richard R. Kenney v. John E. Addicks | Feb 5, 1897 | Kenney Seated |
1897 | OH | Marcus A. Hanna | Feb 28, 1899 | Retained Seat |
1899 | WV | Nathan B. Scott v. John T. McGraw et al. | Mar 20, 1900 | Scott Retained Seat |
1899/
1901 | MT | William A. Clark3 | Mar 4, 1901 | Resigned |
1908 | MD | John W. Smith | Mar 26, 1908 | Seated |
1909 | IL | William Lorimer | July 13, 1912 | Unseated |
1907 | WI | Isaac Stephenson | Mar 27, 1912 | Retained Seat |
1911 | WV | Clarence Watson; William E. Chilton | Feb 11, 1913 | Retained Seats |
Direct Election |
1913 | MD | Blair Lee v. William P. Jackson | Jan 28, 1914 | Lee Seated |
1916 | WV | Howard Sutherland v. William E. Chilton | June 29, 1918 | Sutherland Retained Seat |
1918 | MI | Truman H. Newberry v. Henry Ford | Jan 12, 1922 | Retained Seat; later resigned |
1922 | TX | Earle B. Mayfield v. George E.B. Peddy | Feb 3, 1925 | Mayfield Retained Seat |
1924 | MN | Thomas D. Schall v. Magnus Johnson | Mar 4, 1925 | Schall Retained Seat |
1924 | NM | Sam G. Bratton v. Holm O. Bursum | Mar 4, 1925 | Bratton Retained Seat |
1924 | IA | Daniel F. Steck v. Smith W. Brookhart4 | Apr 30, 1926 | Brookhart: Unseated
Steck: Seated |
1926 | PA | William S. Vare v. William B. Wilson | Dec 6, 1929 | Both Not Seated |
1926 | IL | Frank L. Smith | Jan 19, 1928 | Not Seated |
1930 | AL | John H. Bankhead v. J. Thomas Heflin | Apr 28, 1932 | Bankhead Retained Seat |
1930 | MN | Thomas D. Schall v. Einar Hoidale | Jan 17, 1933 | Schall Retained Seat |
1930 | NC | Josiah W. Bailey v. George M. Pritchard | Feb 3, 1933 | Bailey Retained Seat |
1934 | NM | Bronson Cutting v. Dennis Chavez5 | June 4, 1935 | Cutting Died; Chavez Appointed |
1938 | TN | Tom Stewart | Mar 31, 1939 | Retained Seat |
1938 | IN | Frederick Van Nuys v. Raymond E. Willis | Apr 13, 1939 | Van Nuys Retained Seat |
1942 | TN | Tom Stewart | Feb 25, 1943 | Retained Seat |
1946 | MS | Theodore G. Bilbo | ---6 | Bilbo Died |
1946 | MD | Herbert R. O'Conor v. D. John Markey | May 20, 1948 | O'Conor Retained Seat |
1946 | WV | Harley M. Kilgore v. Tom Sweeney | July 28, 1949 | Kilgore Retained Seat |
1948 | MI | Homer Ferguson v. Frank E. Hook | July 28, 1949 | Ferguson Retained Seat |
1950 | MD | John M Butler v. Millard E. Tydings | Aug 20, 1951 | Butler Retained Seat |
1952 | NM | Dennis Chavez v. Patrick J. Hurley | Mar 23, 1954 | Chavez Retained Seat |
1970 | IN | R. Vance Hartke v. Richard L. Roudebush | July 24, 1972 | Hartke Retained Seat |
1974 | NH | John Durkin v. Louis C. Wyman7 | Sep 16, 1975 | Seat Declared Vacant; New Election Held |
1974 | OK | Henry L. Bellmon v. Edmond A. Edmondson | Mar 4, 1976 | Bellmon Retained Seat |
1996 | LA | Mary Landrieu v. Louis "Woody" Jenkins | Oct 1, 1997 | Landrieu Retained Seat |
2008 | MN | Norm Coleman v. Al Franken8 | June 30, 2009 | Franken Seated |
1. Seat was declared vacant, but Harlan was immediately reelected and seated.
2. Resigned before Senate could vote to void election.
3. Resigned; reelected the next year and seated.
4. Brookhart was initially seated but was later unseated by the Senate and Steck seated in his place. This is the only occasion to date in which the Senate has actually reversed the results of an election, unseated a senator, and seated the challenger.
5. Cutting died May 6, 1935; on June 4, 1935, the Senate agreed with a committee recommendation to dismiss the contest. Chavez was appointed to fill the vacancy.
6. Bilbo died on August 21, 1947, before the Senate reached a decision.
7. This contest ended in deadlock; a new election was held.
6. Bilbo died on August 21, 1947, before the Senate reached a decision.
8. Following a long contest over the election, including a lengthy recount of ballots, the Minnesota state supreme court decided the election in Franken’s favor. Franken took the oath of office on July 7, 2009.
Source: U.S., Congress, Senate, Senate Election, Expulsion, and Censure Cases from 1793 to 1972, S. Doc. 92-7, 92d Cong., 1st sess., 1972.
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