Caretakers on rise in U.S. Senate

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- Paul Kirk's swearing-in Friday to temporarily succeed the late Sen. Ted Kennedy makes him the sixth unelected member of the U.S. Senate.

The so-called "caretaker" situation is a growing problem for some and is spawning a move to change the Constitution to make it mandatory to be voted on before taking a seat in the upper chamber, Politico reports.

"People shouldn't be voting in the United States Senate unless they've been elected by the people," Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., said.

Feingold wants to amend the Constitution so all Senate vacancies are filled by special elections rather than by gubernatorial appointments.

The 17th Amendment allows states to let their governors appoint replacements until the next election.

That's how Roland Burris (D-Ill.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Ted Kaufman (D-Del.), George LeMieux (R-Fla.) and, now Kirk will be on board with no one voting for or against them.

In most cases, this is a one-shot venture. Other than Gillibrand and Bennet, the appointees are not running for election next year.