"Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties as each House may provide."
This had been interpreted that members of the
House of Representatives and of the
Senate could refuse to recognize the election or appointment of a new representative or senator for any reason, often political heterodoxy or criminal record.
However, the
U.S. Supreme Court, in Powell v. McCormack (1969), limited the powers of the Congress to refuse to seat an elected member to when the individual does not meet the specific constitutional requirements of age, citizenship or residency. From the decision by Chief Justice
Earl Warren: "Therefore, we hold that, since
Adam Clayton Powell Jr., was duly elected by the voters of the
18th Congressional District of New York and was not ineligible to serve under any provision of the Constitution, the House was without power to exclude him from its membership."
The
Federal Contested Elections Act of 1969 currently lays out the procedures by which each House determines contested elections.
Unseated members of Congress
1869-1900: Post-Civil-War South
From 1869 to 1900, the House of Representatives refused to seat over 30 Southern Democratic candidates declared the winner by their states. In some cases they weren't seated because the House Elections Committee concluded that fraud, violence, or intimidation had been used against black voters, or, in some cases, that the election statutes of the states themselves were unconstitutional. (Giles v. Harris (1903) ended the latter practice.) In some cases a new election was ordered, while in others the Republican or Populist candidate "defeated" by fraud was seated instead.[1][2]
In some cases the members were refused because the House did not agree the state was entitled to them. A number of southern states upon readmission claimed that since their slaves were emancipated and thus no longer counted as only 3/5th, they were entitled to larger delegations in the House. South Carolina was one state that elected members, such as Peter Martin Epping, to fill its "additional" seats. However the House refused to seat them.[citation needed]
In 1872,George Q. Cannon (
R-
Utah) was elected as the non-voting delegate for
Utah Territory to the House of Representatives. He remained a duly-elected congressional delegate until 1882, when his seat was declared vacant by the enactment of the
anti-MormonEdmunds Act.
1899-1926: Contested elections and criminal charges
William A. Clark (
D-
Montana) was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1899, but promptly met with a petition opposing his election on the grounds that it was secured through bribery. Votes were bought through real estate purchases, bank financing and outright cash purchases. The Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections found unanimously that Clark was not entitled to his seat. Clark resigned in May 1900 before the full Senate took a vote.[4] Clark would serve a term in Congress from 1901 to 1907.[5]
Victor L. Berger (
SP-
Wisconsin) was not seated after his election to the House in 1918 because he had been convicted under the
Espionage Act of 1917. After the House refused to seat him, Wisconsin held a special election in December 1919, which Berger won again. The House again refused to seat him. After the
Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 1921 in Berger v. United States, he was again elected and served three successive terms in the House, from 1923 to 1928.[6]
1967-2009: Contested elections and corruption charges
Adam Clayton Powell Jr. (
D-
New York), a sitting representative, was excluded by the House of Representatives in 1967 because of allegations of corruption. He sued to retain his seat in a landmark Supreme Court decision (see Powell v. McCormack), but was later re-elected and seated in 1969 before litigation was concluded.
Louis C. Wyman (
R-
New Hampshire) was declared the victor of the
US Senate contest in 1974
in New Hampshire by a narrow margin on Election Day (355 votes). A first recount gave the election instead to
John A. Durkin (
D-
New Hampshire) by ten votes, but a second recount swung the result back to Wyman by only two votes. The state of New Hampshire certified Wyman as the winner, but Durkin appealed to the Senate, which had a sixty-vote Democratic majority. The Senate refused to seat Wyman while considering the matter. After a long and contentious debate in the Senate, with Republicans filibustering attempts by the Democratic majority to seat Durkin instead, a special election was held, with Durkin winning handily and becoming Senator.
Roland Burris (
D-
Illinois), due to the
Rod Blagojevich corruption charges, was initially refused a seat in the Senate in 2009. On December 30, 2008, Governor Blagojevich announced that he was
naming Burris to the seat, and
Illinois Secretary of StateJesse White registered the appointment in the official records of Illinois on December 31, 2008. However, Secretary of State White declined to sign the Senate's certification form.[10] Because of this, on January 5, 2009,
Secretary of the United States SenateNancy Erickson rejected Burris's certificate of appointment to the Senate as invalid, citing
Senate Rule 2 as the reason for the rejection.[11] Burris appeared in Washington at the January Congressional swearing-in ceremony on January 6 to claim his seat, but was denied entry into the Senate chambers.[12] Following an
Illinois Supreme Court ruling on January 9, 2009, White provided Burris with a certified copy of the appointment's registration, and Burris delivered that copy, bearing the State Seal, to the
Secretary of the Senate.[13] On January 12, 2009, after the Secretary of the Senate announced that she and
Senate ParliamentarianAlan Frumin deemed Burris's new credentials valid, Senate leaders decided to seat Burris.[14] Burris was sworn in by President of the Senate
Dick Cheney on January 15, 2009.[15][16][17]
^Morton Stavis, "A Century of Struggle for Black Enfranchisement in Mississippi: From the Civil War to the Congressional Challenge of 1965 -- and Beyond", 57 Mississippi Law Journal 591 (1987).
^J. Morgan Kousser, The Shaping of Southern Politics: Suffrage Restriction and the Establishment of the One-Party South, 1880-1910 (1974)
"Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties as each House may provide."
This had been interpreted that members of the
House of Representatives and of the
Senate could refuse to recognize the election or appointment of a new representative or senator for any reason, often political heterodoxy or criminal record.
However, the
U.S. Supreme Court, in Powell v. McCormack (1969), limited the powers of the Congress to refuse to seat an elected member to when the individual does not meet the specific constitutional requirements of age, citizenship or residency. From the decision by Chief Justice
Earl Warren: "Therefore, we hold that, since
Adam Clayton Powell Jr., was duly elected by the voters of the
18th Congressional District of New York and was not ineligible to serve under any provision of the Constitution, the House was without power to exclude him from its membership."
The
Federal Contested Elections Act of 1969 currently lays out the procedures by which each House determines contested elections.
Unseated members of Congress
1869-1900: Post-Civil-War South
From 1869 to 1900, the House of Representatives refused to seat over 30 Southern Democratic candidates declared the winner by their states. In some cases they weren't seated because the House Elections Committee concluded that fraud, violence, or intimidation had been used against black voters, or, in some cases, that the election statutes of the states themselves were unconstitutional. (Giles v. Harris (1903) ended the latter practice.) In some cases a new election was ordered, while in others the Republican or Populist candidate "defeated" by fraud was seated instead.[1][2]
In some cases the members were refused because the House did not agree the state was entitled to them. A number of southern states upon readmission claimed that since their slaves were emancipated and thus no longer counted as only 3/5th, they were entitled to larger delegations in the House. South Carolina was one state that elected members, such as Peter Martin Epping, to fill its "additional" seats. However the House refused to seat them.[citation needed]
In 1872,George Q. Cannon (
R-
Utah) was elected as the non-voting delegate for
Utah Territory to the House of Representatives. He remained a duly-elected congressional delegate until 1882, when his seat was declared vacant by the enactment of the
anti-MormonEdmunds Act.
1899-1926: Contested elections and criminal charges
William A. Clark (
D-
Montana) was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1899, but promptly met with a petition opposing his election on the grounds that it was secured through bribery. Votes were bought through real estate purchases, bank financing and outright cash purchases. The Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections found unanimously that Clark was not entitled to his seat. Clark resigned in May 1900 before the full Senate took a vote.[4] Clark would serve a term in Congress from 1901 to 1907.[5]
Victor L. Berger (
SP-
Wisconsin) was not seated after his election to the House in 1918 because he had been convicted under the
Espionage Act of 1917. After the House refused to seat him, Wisconsin held a special election in December 1919, which Berger won again. The House again refused to seat him. After the
Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 1921 in Berger v. United States, he was again elected and served three successive terms in the House, from 1923 to 1928.[6]
1967-2009: Contested elections and corruption charges
Adam Clayton Powell Jr. (
D-
New York), a sitting representative, was excluded by the House of Representatives in 1967 because of allegations of corruption. He sued to retain his seat in a landmark Supreme Court decision (see Powell v. McCormack), but was later re-elected and seated in 1969 before litigation was concluded.
Louis C. Wyman (
R-
New Hampshire) was declared the victor of the
US Senate contest in 1974
in New Hampshire by a narrow margin on Election Day (355 votes). A first recount gave the election instead to
John A. Durkin (
D-
New Hampshire) by ten votes, but a second recount swung the result back to Wyman by only two votes. The state of New Hampshire certified Wyman as the winner, but Durkin appealed to the Senate, which had a sixty-vote Democratic majority. The Senate refused to seat Wyman while considering the matter. After a long and contentious debate in the Senate, with Republicans filibustering attempts by the Democratic majority to seat Durkin instead, a special election was held, with Durkin winning handily and becoming Senator.
Roland Burris (
D-
Illinois), due to the
Rod Blagojevich corruption charges, was initially refused a seat in the Senate in 2009. On December 30, 2008, Governor Blagojevich announced that he was
naming Burris to the seat, and
Illinois Secretary of StateJesse White registered the appointment in the official records of Illinois on December 31, 2008. However, Secretary of State White declined to sign the Senate's certification form.[10] Because of this, on January 5, 2009,
Secretary of the United States SenateNancy Erickson rejected Burris's certificate of appointment to the Senate as invalid, citing
Senate Rule 2 as the reason for the rejection.[11] Burris appeared in Washington at the January Congressional swearing-in ceremony on January 6 to claim his seat, but was denied entry into the Senate chambers.[12] Following an
Illinois Supreme Court ruling on January 9, 2009, White provided Burris with a certified copy of the appointment's registration, and Burris delivered that copy, bearing the State Seal, to the
Secretary of the Senate.[13] On January 12, 2009, after the Secretary of the Senate announced that she and
Senate ParliamentarianAlan Frumin deemed Burris's new credentials valid, Senate leaders decided to seat Burris.[14] Burris was sworn in by President of the Senate
Dick Cheney on January 15, 2009.[15][16][17]
^Morton Stavis, "A Century of Struggle for Black Enfranchisement in Mississippi: From the Civil War to the Congressional Challenge of 1965 -- and Beyond", 57 Mississippi Law Journal 591 (1987).
^J. Morgan Kousser, The Shaping of Southern Politics: Suffrage Restriction and the Establishment of the One-Party South, 1880-1910 (1974)