Opinion

You have secret power in this Congress

Elizabeth Letchworth Former U.S. Senate Secretary
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You have power that no one is telling you about. It works this way. Speaker Pelosi and Harry Reid are planning to call Congress back in session after the November elections. This rare Lame Duck session will be called so they can try and pass Immigration, Cap ‘N Trade, tax increases, Card Check…just to name a few. They hope the session will be a real “doozie.” You see, even if you vote your member of Congress out of office in November, he/she still keeps the job until January 2011. That’s the way it works in each election. Except when you have a member of Congress that was appointed to fill a vacancy that occurred for one reason or another. I bet you can think of a few members of Congress who are in Congress today because they were appointed to fill a vacancy. President Obama’s Senate seat is one, and then there is the Senate seat VP Biden had for so many years.

There are 6 of these “special seats” in the U.S. Senate that are different. They are Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, New York and West Virginia. The state election law in each of these states (except NY) says that once the November elections take place and the winner is certified, the election winner of these Senate races becomes the U.S. Senator right away, and does not wait until January to be sworn-in.

So…your vote on November 2 could change the next Congress, but it could also effect what happens in the Lame Duck session. If you are voting in 1 of the 5 states where they currently have “Special Senate seats” you will be making history with the power of your vote. Tell your friends and family that vote in the states of Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois and West Virginia about their unique opportunity.

Watch this 90 second video on the lame duck session.

Elizabeth B. Letchworth is a retired, four-times-elected United States Senate Secretary for the Majority and Minority. She is the founder of GradeGov.com.