[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 110th Congress] [110th Congress] [House Document 109-157] [The United States Constitution] [Pages 94-97] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov] [[Page 94]] AMENDMENT XII.\3\
Sec. 219. Meeting of the electors and transmission and count of their votes. | 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 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 presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;-- * * * --------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
Sec. 220. The electoral count. | The electoral count occurs in a joint session of the two Houses in the Hall of the House (III, 1819) at 1 p.m. on the sixth day of January succeeding every meeting of electors (3 U.S.C. 15). The Vice President, as President of the Senate (or the President pro tempore in the Vice President's absence), presides over the joint session (3 U.S.C. 15). The date of the count has been changed by law as follows: (1) the 1957 count was changed to Monday, January 7 (P.L. 84-436); (2) the 1985 count was changed to Monday, January 7 (P.L. 98-456); (3) the 1989 count was changed to Wednesday, January 4 (P.L. 100-646); and (4) the 1997 count was changed to Thursday, January 9 (P.L. 104-296). |
Sec. 221. Elections of President and Vice President by the House and Senate in certain cases. | * * * 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 ineli |
Sec. 222. History of original provision for failure of electoral college to choose. | The 20th amendment to the Constitution has clarified some of the provisions of the 12th amendment. In 1801 (III, 1983), the House of Representatives chose a President under article II, section 1, clause 3 (see Sec. 152a, supra), the constitutional provision superseded by the 12th amendment. |
Sec. 223. Occasions of election by House and Senate after 1803. | In 1825 the House elected a President under the 12th amendment (III, 1985); and in 1837 the Senate elected a Vice President (III, 1941). |