the first clause of section three provides that each state is entitled to have two senators. it states they would be elected by its state legislature and serve six-year terms. each senator has one vote. by these provisions, the framers of the constitution intended to protect the interests of the states as states. however, this clause has been superseded by the seventeenth amendment, ratified in 1913. due to problems in the senate, it was changed to senators would now be elected by the people instead of the state legislatures.