states Having been passed by Congress, the amendment was sent to the states for ratification and was ratified by: Massachusetts: May 22, 1912 Arizona: June 3, 1912 Minnesota: June 10, 1912 New York: January 15, 1913 Kansas: January 17, 1913 Oregon: January 23, 1913 North Carolina: January 25, 1913 California: January 28, 1913 Michigan: January 28, 1913 Iowa: January 30, 1913 Montana: January 30, 1913 Idaho: January 31, 1913 West Virginia: February 4, 1913 Colorado: February 5, 1913 Nevada: February 6, 1913 Texas: February 7, 1913 Washington: February 7, 1913 Wyoming: February 8, 1913 Arkansas: February 11, 1913 Maine: February 11, 1913 Illinois: February 13, 1913 North Dakota: February 14, 1913 Wisconsin: February 18, 1913 Indiana: February 19, 1913 New Hampshire: February 19, 1913 Vermont: February 19, 1913 South Dakota: February 19, 1913 Oklahoma: February 24, 1913 Ohio: February 25, 1913 Missouri: March 7, 1913 New Mexico: March 13, 1913 Nebraska: March 14, 1913 New Jersey: March 17, 1913 Tennessee: April 1, 1913 Pennsylvania: April 2, 1913 Connecticut: April 8, 1913With 36 states having ratified the Seventeenth Amendment, it was certified by Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan on May 31, 1913, as part of the Constitution. The amendment has subsequently been ratified by: Louisiana: June 11, 1914 Alabama: April 11, 2002 Delaware: July 1, 2010 (after rejecting the amendment on March 18, 1913) Maryland: April 1, 2012 Rhode Island: June 20, 2014 The Utah legislature rejected the amendment on February 26, 1913. No action on the amendment has been completed by Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina, Virginia, Alaska or Hawaii. Alaska and Hawaii were not yet states at the time of the amendment's proposal, and have never taken any official action to support or oppose the amendment since achieving statehood. Effect The Seventeenth Amendment altered the process for electing United States senators and changed the way vacancies would be filled. Originally, the Constitution required state legislatures to fill Senate vacancies. According to Judge Bybee, the Seventeenth Amendment had a dramatic impact on the political composition of the U.S. Senate. Before the Supreme Court required "one man, one vote" in Reynolds v. Sims (1964), malapportionment of state legislatures was common. For example, rural counties and cities could be given "equal weight" in the state legislatures, enabling one rural vote to equal 200 city votes. The malapportioned state legislatures would have given the Republicans control of the Senate in the