[Article XII.]
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.
(See Note 14)--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.
certify - to confirm formally
as true and accurate
devolve - to pass on or delegate
to someone else
Electors - Electoral College
- The group that meets after the public votes in the presidentiathl election
to cast ballots for the president and vice-president, This actually decides
the election.
quorum - the minimum member
of people in a group that must be present for the business of the group
to legally take place.
Rewrite Amendment in your own words
in the space below. Print it out and give it to your instructor or teacher or
copy and paste it into an e-mail to send him/her.
Discussion Questions:
How is this amendment important
today with political parties?
There have been efforts in the
past to abolish the Electoral College. Do you feel that it should be done
away with and why or why not?
How has the Electoral College
impacted recent campaigns and elections?
