Nullifying the 17th Amendment

[Keith Broaders]

In 1913 the state legislature of Delaware voted to reject the proposed 17th Amendment, but in 2010 the state legislature voted to change their vote from the negative to the affirmative.

Congress accepted their petition and created a precedent that a state has a right to rescind a previous vote for or against voted for or against the ratification of an amendment.

Many of the southern states who rejected the 13th, 14thand 15th Amendments were required to change their vote in order to be re-admitted to the union.

In order for the 17th Amendment to have been lawfully ratified it would have required the unanimous support of all of the 48 states that existed when the amendment was proposed.

The right of a state to change their ratification vote is one of the rights that was not enumerated that is protected by the Ninth Amendment 

When Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850 and the Supreme  Court ruled against Dred Scott, many of the Northern States nullified the Federal Law and refused to comply.

States have a lawful right to rescind their ratification vote and declare the 17th Amendment null and void in their state. The Amendment Protection Clause found in Article V prohibits Congress from depriving a state of its equal suffrage in the senate without their consent.

The seven states (Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Kentucky, South Carolina, George, Utah and Virginia) have not given their consent and have a right to ignore the provisions of the 17th Amendment.

All of the other state that have previously ratified the amendment have a right to rescind their ratification of the amendment and discontinue the direct election of senators in their states.