The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and
vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall
not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in
their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the
person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all
persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President and
of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and
transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to
the President of the Senate;
The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the
Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes
shall then be counted;
The person having the greatest Number of votes for
President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole
number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from
the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those
voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately,
by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be
taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum
for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of
the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice.
And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the
right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next
following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of
the death or other constitutional disability of the President.
The person having the greatest number of votes as
Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of
the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then
from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the
Vice-President; a quorum
for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators,
and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no
person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible
to that of Vice-President of the United States.
Notes for this
amendment: Proposed 12/9/1803 - Ratified 6/15/1804
History - The Constitution was written before parties were a player in American politics. When John Adams was chosen for President in the 1796 election, the second-place candidate, Thomas Jefferson, became Vice President — but Adams was a Federalist and Jefferson was a Democratic-Republican. The two clashed several times during Adams's presidency, though Adams's conflicts with Hamilton, a Federalist, too, probably caused Adams more concern.
In the
election of 1800, the flaws of the original system became more than apparent.
Jefferson and Aaron Burr both got 73 votes in the Electoral
College, forcing the House of Representatives to choose. The
problem? Both Jefferson and Burr were candidates of the same party, with Burr
chosen to be the Vice President; some states preferred Burr, and neither was
able to get the required majority until the stalemate was ultimately broken.
The result was the 12th Amendment,
approved in Congress on December 9, 1803, and ratified on June 15, 1804 (189
days), in time for the new process to be in place for the 1804 election. With
the 12th, Electors are directed to vote for a President and for a Vice
President rather than for two choices for President. You may wish to view information regarding
the “Stolen Election” of 1824. I think
you will find this enlightening.
The Electoral College
Article 2, Section 1
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