Do you have trouble understanding the electoral college? You know, that amendment to the U.S. Constitution that determines how the President and Vice President of the United States are elected.
I can understand your confusion. Actually, I was for it before I was against it. But, now that I understand it better, I am definitely for it.
You see, the Founding Fathers, in their great wisdom, could see that large numbers of people were making their residence in just a few large cities, while smaller numbers of people were settling on farms and ranches that were spread across the vast expanse of the country. If the President were to be elected by popular vote, the decisions of the city dwellers would always take precedence. Thus, the needs and desires of the farmers, which were quite different from those of the people in the large cities, would never be addressed.
And so, a certain number of electors would be designated to represent the decision of the majority of voters in their state. Those electors would then cast their ballot and the majority of ballots would determine who the next President and Vice President would be.
The method of determining the next leaders and all that entails was first covered by Article II, section I of the U.S. Constitution. Amendment 12, which contains within itself Amendment 20, makes it all complete.
“Amendment 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 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, anf of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify and transmit 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 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.
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.”
Amendment XX:
“Section 1. The terms of the President and the Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3rd day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.
Section 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day. (I think Congress may have gone a little overboard in their meeting since the first one more than 200 years ago, don’t you? I wonder what would happen if they only met once a year now. And, for how long?)
Section 3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President-elect shall have died, the Vice President-elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President-elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President-elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified;
and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President-elect nor a Vice President-elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.
Section 4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.”
Let’s hope that won’t be necessary.
Next week will end this series on the U.S. Constitution. See you then.
Dorothy is the author of two books—“Miles and Miracles” and “Getting It All Together “. You can purchase a book or send a comment by emailing her at dorothybutzknight@gmail.com
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