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what electoral college practice did the twelfth amendment replace

by Liliane Osinski Published 3 years ago Updated 3 years ago

The Twelfth Amendment (Amendment XII) to the United States Constitution provides the procedure for electing the president and vice president. It replaced the procedure provided in Article II, Section 1, Clause 3, by which the Electoral College originally functioned.

How did the Twelfth Amendment change the Electoral College?

The Twelfth Amendment got rid of this practice, replacing it with one where electors cast one vote for president and another for vice president. A number of provisions of the Amendment have been superseded by the Twentieth Amendment. Cunningham, Election of 1800, in 1 History of American Presidential Elections 101 (A. Schlesinger ed., 1971).

How did electors choose the vice president before the Twelfth Amendment?

Before the Twelfth Amendment, electors each had two votes - but they didn't specifically vote on who they wanted for Vice President. Instead, they chose their top two candidates for president, and the runner-up would become Vice President.

What are the terms of the Twelfth Amendment?

Each presidential election since has been conducted under the terms of the Twelfth Amendment. The Twelfth Amendment stipulates that each elector must cast distinct votes for president and vice president, instead of two votes for president.

Why was the 12th Amendment added to the Constitution?

Intended to address unforeseen political problems resulting from the presidential elections of 1796 and 1800, the 12th Amendment replaced the procedure originally provided for in Article II, Section 1. The amendment was passed by Congress on December 9, 1803, and ratified by the states on June 15, 1804.

What Electoral College practice did the Twelfth Amendment replace quizlet?

What Electoral College practice did the Twelfth Amendment replace? The president and vice president were elected from the same pool of candidates. If you were a campaign manager trying to target the largest population of likely voters, at which place would you suggest your candidate campaign?

How did 12th Amendment change Electoral College?

After the experiences of the 1796 and 1800 elections, Congress passed, and the states ratified, the 12th Amendment to the Constitution. Added in time for the 1804 election, the amendment stipulated that the electors would now cast two votes: one for President and the other for Vice President.

What did the 12th amendment do?

Passed by Congress December 9, 1803, and ratified June 15, 1804, the 12th Amendment provided for separate Electoral College votes for President and Vice President, correcting weaknesses in the earlier electoral system which were responsible for the controversial Presidential Election of 1800.

What change in presidential elections was made by the Twelfth Amendment quizlet?

The Twelfth Amendment refined the process whereby a President and a Vice President are elected by the Electoral College.

Has the Electoral College changed?

With the ratification of the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution (and starting with the 75th Congress in 1937), the electoral votes are counted before the newly sworn-in Congress, elected the previous November. The date of the count was changed in 1957, 1985, 1989, 1997, 2009, and 2013.

Why was the Twelfth Amendment added to the Constitution quizlet?

The 12th Amendment was added to the Constitution to prevent ties in the election.

How did the Twelfth Amendment change the Constitution quizlet?

How did the Twelfth Amendment change the Constitution? It provided guidelines for the establishment of the Electoral College. What is a drawback of the winner-take-all system of Electoral College voting? It makes it possible for candidates to lose the popular vote, yet win the election.

Why was the Electoral College created?

The Electoral College As prescribed in the U.S. Constitution, American presidents are elected not directly by the people, but by the people's electors. The Electoral College was created by the framers of the U.S. Constitution as an alternative to electing the president by popular vote or by Congress.

When was the first Electoral College?

1788–89 United States presidential electionNomineeGeorge WashingtonPartyIndependentAllianceFederalistHome stateVirginiaElectoral vote694 more rows

What changes in the Electoral College system were prompted by the election of 1800?

The only constitutional change that resulted from the election of 1800 was the twelfth amendment requiring separate electoral votes for president and vice president.

What did the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution requires quizlet?

What does the twelfth amendment require? The twelfth amendment requires electors to vote for the president and vice president on separate ballots.

How had the electoral process changed by 1800 quizlet?

How had the electoral process changed by 1800? Political parties had taken over the nomination process, and electors voted along party lines.

What is the 12th amendment?

The Twelfth Amendment ( Amendment XII) to the United States Constitution provides the procedure for electing the president and vice president. It replaced the procedure provided in Article II, Section 1, Clause 3, by which the Electoral College originally functioned. The amendment was proposed by the Congress on December 9, 1803, ...

When was the 12th amendment passed?

The Twelfth Amendment was proposed by the 8th Congress on December 9, 1803, when it was approved by the House of Representatives by vote of 84–42, having been previously passed by the Senate, 22–10, on December 2. The amendment was officially submitted to the states on December 12, 1803, and was ratified by the legislatures of the following states:

What amendment was proposed in 1801?

In March 1801, weeks after the election of 1800 was resolved, two amendments were proposed in the New York State Legislature that would form the skeleton of the Twelfth Amendment . Governor John Jay submitted an amendment to the state legislature that would require a district election of electors in each state.

How many votes does the elector cast?

Under the original procedure for the Electoral College, as provided in Article II, Section 1, Clause 3, each elector cast two electoral votes, with no distinction made between electoral votes for president and electoral votes for vice president. The two people chosen by the elector could not both inhabit the same state as that elector. This prohibition was designed to keep electors from voting for two " favorite sons " of their respective states. The person receiving the greatest number of votes, provided that number constituted a majority of the electors, was elected president, while the presidential candidate receiving the second-most votes was elected vice president.

How do the electors vote?

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 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;

What happens if no candidate for vice president has a majority of the total votes?

If no candidate for vice president has a majority of the total votes, the Senate , with each senator having one vote, chooses the vice president. The Twelfth Amendment requires the Senate to choose between the candidates with the "two highest numbers" of electoral votes.

Which amendment requires the Senate to choose a vice president?

The Twelfth Amendment introduced a quorum requirement of two-thirds of the whole number of senators for the conduct of balloting. Furthermore, the Twelfth Amendment requires the Senate to choose a vice president by way of the affirmative votes of "a majority of the whole number" of senators.

What amendment is the election of the President?

Twelfth Amendment - Election of President. 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 ...

Which amendment supersedes clause 3 of Sec. 1 of Article II?

Election of President. This Amendment, 1 which supersedes clause 3 of Sec. 1 of Article II, was adopted so as to make impossible the situation occurring after the election of 1800 in which Jefferson and Burr received tie votes in the electoral college, thus throwing the selection of a President into the House of Representatives, ...

What happens if the vote of a state is not certified by the governor under seal?

As a consequence of the disputed election of 1870, Congress has enacted a statute providing that if the vote of a State is not certified by the governor under seal, it shall not be counted unless both Houses of Congress concur. 3.

How did the electoral college work before the 12th amendment?

Before the 12th Amendment, the Electoral College system worked as follows: Each elector of the Electoral College was allowed to vote for any two candidates, at least one of whom was not a resident of the elector’s home state. When voting, the electors did not designate which of the two candidates they had voted for was to be vice president.

Who proposed the 12th amendment?

While the amendments eventually failed in the New York legislature, U.S. Senator DeWitt Clinton of New York began discussions on a proposed amendment in the U.S. Congress. On December 9, 1803, the 8th Congress approved the 12th Amendment and three days later submitted it to the states for ratification.

How did the electoral college work?

Exactly as the Framers intended, the U.S. Constitution never has and probably never will even mention politics or political parties. Before the 12th Amendment, the Electoral College system worked as follows: 1 Each elector of the Electoral College was allowed to vote for any two candidates, at least one of whom was not a resident of the elector’s home state. 2 When voting, the electors did not designate which of the two candidates they had voted for was to be vice president. Instead, they just voted for the two candidates they believed to be the most qualified to serve as president. 3 The candidate getting more than 50 percent of the votes became president. The candidate getting the second most votes became vice president. 4 If no candidate got more than 50 percent of the votes, the president was to be selected by the House of Representatives, with the delegation of each state getting one vote. While this gave equal power to both the large and small states, it also made it more likely that the candidate ultimately selected to be president would not be the candidate who had won the majority of the popular vote. 5 In the event of a tie among the candidates who got the second-most votes, the Senate selected the vice president, with each Senator getting one vote.

What amendment did the President and Vice President of the United States get elected by?

He has written for ThoughtCo since 1997. The 12th Amendment to the United States Constitution refined the manner in which the President and Vice President of the United States are elected by the Electoral College. Intended to address unforeseen political problems resulting from the presidential elections of 1796 and 1800, ...

What amendment requires each elector to vote for the President?

As the influence of politics in government grew, the problems of this system became clear. The 12th Amendment requires that each elector cast one vote specifically for president and one vote specifically for vice president, rather than two votes for president. In addition, the electors may not vote for both candidates of a presidential ticket, ...

Which amendment requires the electors to vote separately for the president and vice president?

The 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution modified the way in which the president and vice president are elected under the Electoral College system. The amendment requires that the electors of the Electoral College cast separate votes for president and vice president, rather than two votes for president.

How many states ratified the 12th amendment?

Since there were seventeen states in the Union at the time, thirteen were needed for ratification. By September 25, 1804, fourteen states had ratified it and James Madison declared that the 12th Amendment had become a part of the Constitution.

What amendments are needed to amend the electoral college?

Amending the Electoral College: The 12th Amendment. The Electoral College is outlined in Article II, Section 1, of the U.S. Constitution. It is the formal body that elects the President and Vice President of the United States. Back in 1787, when the delegates to the Constitutional Convention were trying to figure out how ...

When was the 12th amendment ratified?

States were quick to take up the amendment, and on June 15, 1804, with New Hampshire’s ratification, 13 of 17 states (three-fourths) had ratified it to become the 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The debate on amending the Electoral College did not end there. Since then, several controversial elections have occurred, ...

Why did the framers think the system was a good compromise to ensure the independence of the Executive?

Because the electors were assembled for the single purpose of choosing the President and then dispersed, the framers thought the system was a good compromise to ensure the independence of the Executive—that is, the President wouldn’t be beholden to a specific standing body to ensure reelection.

How many electoral votes does the District of Columbia have?

Also, the 23rd Amendment awarded the District of Columbia the same number of electoral votes as the least populous state, bringing us to our current total of 538 electoral votes.

How many votes did the Senate pass on December 9th?

After several days of further debate, including questions over whether the two-thirds majority was to be calculated from total members in the body or of the members present, the House narrowly passed the Senate’s version on December 9 by a vote of 83 to 42 (of members present), just over the two-thirds requirement.

How did the 1800 election work?

With the 1800 election, the parties attempted to remedy the situation by having the President and Vice President elected on a party ticket. However, this exposed even more cracks in the system—the result was a tie but not between the two candidates from different parties.

When was the tally of the electoral votes for the 1800 presidential election?

Tally of electoral votes for the 1800 Presidential election, 2/11/1801. ( National Archives Identifier 2668821) When the Eighth Congress convened in October 1803, the House appointed a committee to consider an amendment: “That, in all future elections of President and Vice President, the persons shall be particularly designated, ...

What is the 12th amendment?

Twelfth Amendment, amendment (1804) to the Constitution of the United States repealing and revising presidential election procedures. The Twelfth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1804. The catalyst for the Twelfth Amendment was the U.S. presidential election of 1800.

What was the catalyst for the 12th amendment?

The catalyst for the Twelfth Amendment was the U.S. presidential election of 1800. Under the original text of the Constitution, political participation was at first reserved for the American elite. Only landowning white males could run for office and vote, and the voting privilege itself was restricted in presidential elections to elite slates ...

Who was the Democratic candidate for President in 1796?

In 1796 the Federalist Party supported John Adams for president, but it split its vote such that the Democratic-Republican candidate, Thomas Jefferson, earned the second greatest number of votes, thereby securing the post of vice president.

Overview

The Twelfth Amendment (Amendment XII) to the United States Constitution provides the procedure for electing the president and vice president. It replaced the procedure provided in Article II, Section 1, Clause 3, by which the Electoral College originally functioned. The amendment was proposed by the Congress on December 9, 1803, and was ratified by the requisite three-fourths of state legisl…

Text

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 all persons voted for as Vice-President and of the number of votes for each, which lists they …

Background

Under the original procedure for the Electoral College, as provided in Article II, Section 1, Clause 3, each elector cast two electoral votes, with no distinction made between electoral votes for president and electoral votes for vice president. The two people chosen by the elector could not both inhabit the same state as that elector. This prohibition was designed to keep electors from voting for two "favorite sons" of their respective states. The person receiving the greatest numb…

Adoption

In March 1801, weeks after the election of 1800 was resolved, two amendments were proposed in the New York State Legislature that would form the skeleton of the Twelfth Amendment. Governor John Jay submitted an amendment to the state legislature that would require a district election of electors in each state. Assemblyman Jedediah Peck submitted an amendment to adopt designations …

Electoral College under the Twelfth Amendment

While the Twelfth Amendment did not change the composition of the Electoral College, it did change the process whereby a president and a vice president are elected. The new electoral process was first used for the 1804 election. Each presidential election since has been conducted under the terms of the Twelfth Amendment.
The Twelfth Amendment stipulates that each elector must cast distinct votes for president and …

Elections since 1804

Starting with the election of 1804, each presidential election has been conducted under the Twelfth Amendment. Only once since then has the House of Representatives chosen the president in a contingent election, in the 1824 election as none of the four candidates won an absolute majority (131 at the time) of electoral votes: Andrew Jackson received 99 electoral votes, John Quin…

See also

• United States presidential eligibility legislation

External links

• Constitution of the United States, via Wikisource
• CRS Annotated Constitution: Twelfth Amendment, via Cornell Law School
• Ellis, E. S. (1903). Thomas Jefferson: A Character Sketch., via Project Gutenberg

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