According to a report in the Huffington Post, the right-wing non-profit organization ALEC is considering supporting a bill that would significantly encroach upon the principle of direct elections of U.S. senators that was established by the 17th Amendment.

Called the "Equal State's Enfranchisement Act," the bill would allow a plurality of members of a state legislature to nominate a candidate to appear on the ballot. The candidate would be listed along with those of the two major parties, chosen via convention or primary processes. The 17th Amendment, passed in 1913, changed the rules for electing senators to allow for direct elections rather than having state legislatures choose.

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"It's an attempt to blunt the effects of the 17th Amendment by reinserting the state legislature and their views back into the process of electing U.S. senators," UC-Davis School of Law Professor Vikram Amar said to the Huffington Post. "By itself, it's not a full-fledged repeal or circumvention of the 17th Amendment," he continued. "But it's kind of an encroachment of the vision of the 17th Amendment."

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