Eleanor Finch
Congress passed the Twelfth Amendment to the US Constitution to address flaws in the original system for electing the president and vice president. The previous system, outlined in Article II, Section 1, Clause 3, allowed each member of the Electoral College to cast two votes for presidential candidates, with the runner-up in the electoral vote becoming vice president. This resulted in the election of 1796, where Federalist candidate John Adams was elected president, and Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson, who earned the second-most votes, became vice president to an opposing political party. The Twelfth Amendment was proposed by Congress on December 9, 1803, and ratified by the requisite number of state legislatures on June 15, 1804. It established new guidelines, providing for separate votes for president and vice president, and clarifying the process for the House and Senate to choose the president and vice president, respectively, in certain scenarios.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date proposed by Congress | 9 December 1803 |
| Date ratified by states | 15 June 1804 |
| Date added to the Constitution | 25 September 1804 |
| Reason | To reform the Electoral College and provide new guidelines for the election of the president and vice president |
| Previous system | Each member of the Electoral College cast two electoral votes, with no distinction between votes for president or vice president |
| Previous system | The candidate who received the most votes became president, and the candidate with the second-most votes became vice president |
| Previous system | The House would choose the President from the top five candidates, and the person coming in second would serve as vice-president |
| Amendment system | Each elector casts one vote for president and one for vice president |
| Amendment system | The House would choose the President from the top three candidates, and the Senate would choose the Vice President from the top two candidates |
| Amendment system | The Vice President would act as President if the House did not choose a President before the start of the presidential term |
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What You'll Learn
To prevent deadlocks and ensure a leader
The Twelfth Amendment was passed by Congress on December 9, 1803, and ratified on June 15, 1804. The amendment was proposed to address flaws in the original system of electing the president and vice president, which had been exposed by the elections of 1796 and 1800.
The original system, outlined in Article II, Section 1, Clause 3 of the Constitution, dictated that each member of the Electoral College cast two electoral votes, with no distinction between votes for president and vice president. The presidential candidate receiving the most votes was elected president, and the candidate with the second-most votes became vice president.
In 1796, this resulted in Federalist candidate John Adams being elected president, while his fellow Federalist candidate, Thomas Pinckney, came in third. The second-most votes went to Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson, who thus became vice president to an opposing political party. In 1800, Adams and Jefferson faced off again, and the issue of having a president and vice president from opposing parties was raised once more.
The Twelfth Amendment addressed this issue by providing that electors would now cast one vote for president and one vote for vice president. This change simplified the process of selecting a president and vice president from the same political party and acknowledged the emergence of the Electoral College as a mechanism for party-line voting.
Additionally, the Twelfth Amendment aimed to prevent deadlocks and ensure a leader by establishing a process to follow if the House of Representatives could not choose a president before March 4, the start of a presidential term. In such cases, the vice president-elect would "act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President". This provision was later superseded by the Twentieth Amendment, which changed the date of a new presidential term to January 20.
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To simplify the process of electing a president and vice president
The Twelfth Amendment was passed by Congress on December 9, 1803, and ratified by the requisite three-quarters of state legislatures on June 15, 1804. The amendment was designed to simplify the process of electing a president and vice president by addressing flaws in the original system, which allowed for the selection of a president and vice president from different political parties.
Previously, each member of the Electoral College cast two electoral votes, with no distinction between votes for president and vice president. The candidate with the most votes became president, and the candidate with the second-most votes became vice president. This system led to the election of a president and vice president from opposing parties in 1796, with Federalist John Adams as president and Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson as vice president.
The Twelfth Amendment addressed this issue by providing for separate votes for president and vice president, with each elector casting one vote for each office. This simplified the process of selecting a president and vice president from the same political party. The amendment also changed the procedure for choosing the president and vice president in the event that no candidate received a majority of electoral votes. Under the original system, the House of Representatives chose the president from the top five candidates, and the person in second place became vice president unless there was a tie for second place, in which case the Senate chose between them. The Twelfth Amendment modified this process by having the House choose the president from the top three candidates and the Senate choose the vice president from the top two candidates for that office.
Additionally, the Twelfth Amendment included a provision to prevent leadership vacuums by stating that if the House did not choose a president before March 4 (the start of a presidential term), the vice president-elect would "act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President". This provision was later superseded by Section 3 of the Twentieth Amendment, which changed the date of a new presidential term to January 20 and clarified that Congress could statutorily determine who would act as president if there was no president-elect or vice president-elect.
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To address flaws in the original system
The Twelfth Amendment was passed by Congress to address flaws in the original system of electing the president and vice president. The original system, as outlined in Article II, Section 1, Clause 3 of the Constitution, had several shortcomings that led to disputed election outcomes in 1796 and 1800.
Under the original system, each member of the Electoral College cast two electoral votes, with no distinction between votes for president and vice president. The candidate who received the most votes became president, and the candidate with the second-most votes became vice president. This often resulted in the president and vice president being from different political parties, leading to political misalignment. In the 1796 election, Federalist candidate John Adams was elected president, but the runner-up was not his fellow Federalist candidate, Thomas Pinckney. Instead, the Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson earned the second-most votes, becoming vice president to an opposing political party.
Another issue arose in the 1800 election when Adams and Jefferson faced off again. This time, the House had to choose between Jefferson and his running mate, Aaron Burr, resulting in an embarrassing tie vote. These elections exposed the flaws in the original system and set the stage for a constitutional amendment.
The Twelfth Amendment addressed these issues by providing separate votes for president and vice president, simplifying the process and allowing for the selection of a president and vice president from the same political party. It also changed the procedure for choosing the president if no candidate received a majority of electoral votes. Instead of the House choosing between the top five candidates, they would now select from the top three, and the Senate would choose the vice president from the top two choices. Additionally, it provided that if the House did not choose a president before March 4, the vice president-elect would "act as President" until a decision was made, preventing deadlocks from keeping the nation leaderless.
The Twelfth Amendment was proposed by Congress on December 9, 1803, and ratified by the requisite number of state legislatures on June 15, 1804. It was designed to bring stability and duration to the Constitution and prevent future disputed elections.
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To avoid a repeat of the 1796 and 1800 elections
The Twelfth Amendment was passed to prevent a repeat of the 1796 and 1800 elections, which exposed the flaws of the original system established in the US Constitution. The original system saw each member of the Electoral College vote for two presidential candidates, with the candidate receiving the most votes becoming president, and the candidate with the second-most votes becoming vice president.
In 1796, Federalist candidate John Adams was elected president, but his fellow Federalist candidate, Thomas Pinckney, did not receive the second-most votes. Instead, Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson earned the second-most votes, resulting in a vice president from an opposing political party. This outcome highlighted the potential for a president and vice president with different political alignments to be selected under the original system.
In 1800, another issue arose when Adams and Jefferson faced off in the presidential election. This time, the problem was not a mismatch in political alignment between the president and vice president, but rather a tie vote that forced the House to choose between Jefferson and his running mate, Aaron Burr. This situation demonstrated the need for a clear mechanism to break ties and prevent deadlocks in the Electoral College.
To address these issues, the Twelfth Amendment was proposed by Congress on December 9, 1803, and ratified by the requisite three-quarters of state legislatures on June 15, 1804. The amendment provided that electors would continue to cast two votes, but one would explicitly be for the presidency, while the other designated the vice presidency. This change ensured that presidential candidates and their running mates would not be subjected to embarrassing tie votes in the future. Additionally, the amendment simplified the process for selecting a president and vice president from the same political party, acknowledging and facilitating the emergence of political parties in American politics.
The Twelfth Amendment also included provisions to prevent deadlocks from leaving the nation leaderless. It stated that if the House did not choose a president before March 4 (the start of a presidential term), the vice president-elect would act as president until a decision was made. This provision was later superseded by the Twentieth Amendment, which changed the date to January 20 and allowed Congress to determine who would act as president in the absence of a president-elect or vice president-elect.
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To give stability and duration to the Constitution
The Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution was proposed by Congress on December 9, 1803, and ratified by the requisite three-quarters of state legislatures on June 15, 1804. The amendment was designed to address flaws in the original system of electing the president and vice president, which had resulted in the selection of a president and vice president from opposing political parties in the elections of 1796 and 1800.
The original system, established under Article II, Section 1, Clause 3 of the Constitution, provided that each member of the Electoral College cast two electoral votes, with no distinction between votes for president and vice president. The candidate who received the most votes became president, and the candidate with the second-most votes became vice president. In 1796, this resulted in Federalist candidate John Adams being elected president, while his fellow Federalist candidate, Thomas Pinckney, came in third, with Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson earning the second-most votes and becoming vice president to an opposing political party.
In his speech in favour of the Twelfth Amendment in 1803, Massachusetts Senator Timothy Pickering argued that the amendment would give "stability and duration" to the Constitution. He noted that the framers had expected amendments to be added to the Constitution and believed that the Twelfth Amendment would help realise the original intent of the framers. Pickering's support for the amendment was based on the understanding that it would provide stability and longevity to the Constitution by addressing the flaws exposed by the elections of 1796 and 1800.
The Twelfth Amendment provided a new procedure for electing the president and vice president, replacing the original system. Under the amendment, the Electoral College still cast two votes, but one vote was explicitly for the presidency, while the other designated the vice presidency. This prevented the embarrassing situation of a tie vote between presidential candidates and their running mates, as had occurred between Jefferson and Burr. Additionally, the amendment simplified the process for selecting a president and vice president from the same political party, acknowledging and facilitating the emergence of the Electoral College as a mechanism for party-line voting.
The Twelfth Amendment also addressed the issue of deadlocks in the election process. It provided that if the House did not choose a president before March 4 (then the first day of a presidential term), the vice president-elect would "act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President". This provision ensured that the nation would not be left leaderless in the event of a prolonged contingent election.
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Frequently asked questions
Congress passed the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution to address flaws in the original system for electing the president and vice president. The original system resulted in the elections of 1796 and 1800, where the president and vice president were from opposing political parties.
The Twelfth Amendment provided for separate votes for president and vice president, with each elector casting one vote for each office. It also simplified the process for selecting a president and vice president from the same political party. Additionally, it addressed the issue of deadlocks by stating that if the House did not choose a president before March 4, the vice president-elect would "act as President" until the House made a decision.
The Twelfth Amendment was proposed by the Eighth Congress on December 9, 1803, and ratified by the requisite three-quarters of state legislatures on June 15, 1804. It came into effect for the 1804 presidential election.
