1653

ELECTION OF PRESIDENT 

TWELFTH AMENDMENT 

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 VicePresident, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons 

voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as VicePresident, 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, 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 

1654 AMENDMENT 12—ELECTION OF PRESIDENT 

1 A number of provisions of the Amendment have been superseded by the Twentieth Amendment. 2 Cunningham, Election of 1800, in 1 HISTORY OF AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL

ELECTIONS 101 (A. Schlesinger ed., 1971). 3 3 U.S.C. § 15. 

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 ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the 

United States. 

ELECTION OF PRESIDENT 

This Amendment, 1 which supersedes clause 3 of § 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, despite the fact that the 

electors had intended Jefferson to be President and Burr to be 

Vice-President. 2 The difference between the procedure which it defines and that which was laid down originally is in the provision 

it makes for a separate designation by the electors of their choices 

for President and Vice-President, respectively. 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