The Legislative Branch

The legislature created in the Constitution is called a bicameral legislature because it is divided into two houses, the House of Representatives and the Senate. Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution establishes the qualifications for members of the House of Representatives. Representatives are elected every two years and they must possess three qualifications: 1) they must be at least twenty-five years old, 2) they must have been a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and 3) they must reside in the state from which they are elected. If a vacancy in the House occurs because a representative is unable to serve the full term, then the Governor of that representative's state selects the individual to fill the vacancy. Article I, Section 2, also provides that the House of Representatives will choose its Speaker and other officers, and that the House of Representatives has the sole power of impeachment.

Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution establishes the Senate. The Senate is composed of two Senators from each state who are elected every six years. Senators must possess three qualifications: 1) they must be at least thirty years old, 2) they must have been a U.S. citizen for at least nine years, and 3) they must reside in the state from which they are elected. Under Article 1, Section 3, the Senate has the sole power to try all impeachments, and no person shall be impeached with the concurrence of two-thirds of the Senators.

Learn more about the Legislative Branch.