IA
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. J. RES. 25
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to abolish
the electoral college and establish a new procedure for electing the
President and Vice President.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 1, 2001
Mr. LEACH introduced the following joint resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
JOINT RESOLUTION
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United
States to abolish the electoral college and establish a
new procedure for electing the President and Vice Presi-
dent.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-
thirds of each House concurring therein), That the fol-
lowing article is proposed as an amendment to the Con-
stitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all
intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when
ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several
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States within seven years after the date of its submission
for ratification:
‘‘ARTICLE —
‘‘SECTION 1. The President and Vice President shall
be elected in accordance with this article by the people
of the several States and of the District constituting the
seat of Government of the United States. The electors in
the District shall have such qualifications as Congress may
by law prescribe, and the electors in each State shall have
the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numer-
ous branch of the State legislature.
‘‘SECTION 2. On the day designated by Congress for
holding an election for President and Vice President, each
elector shall cast a single vote jointly applicable to a pair
of candidates for President and Vice President. The can-
didate for President and the candidate for Vice President
shall be clearly indicated within each pair. The names of
candidates for President and Vice President shall not be
joined as a pair unless both candidates shall have con-
sented thereto and no name of a candidate may be joined
with that of more than one other person.
‘‘SECTION 3. The times, places, and manner of hold-
ing an election for President and Vice President shall be
regulated in the District by Congress, and in each State
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by the legislature thereof, except that Congress may at
any time make or alter such regulations.
‘‘SECTION 4. Each State shall have the number of
electoral votes that is equal to the number of Senators
and Representatives in Congress to which such State is
entitled. The District shall have the number of electoral
votes that is equal to the number of Senators and Rep-
resentatives in Congress to which the District would be
entitled if it were a State. The legislature of each State
shall determine whether to apportion the electoral votes
of such State in accordance with the provisions of section
5 or section 6.
‘‘SECTION 5. The legislature of any State may deter-
mine to, and the District shall, apportion all of the elec-
toral votes of such State or the District to the pair of can-
didates for President and Vice President that received the
greatest number of votes in such State or District.
‘‘SECTION 6. The legislature of any State may deter-
mine to apportion two of the electoral votes of such State
to the pair of candidates for President and Vice President
that received the greatest number of votes in such State,
and to apportion one electoral vote, for each district from
which a Representative from such State is elected, to the
pair of candidates for President and Vice President that
received the greatest number of votes in such district.
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‘‘SECTION 7. The chief executive of each State and
the District shall, within thirty days after an election for
President and Vice President, transmit a signed and
sealed certificate to the President of the Senate stating
the number of electoral votes of such State or District that
are apportioned to each pair of candidates for President
and Vice President, and the total number of votes received
in such State or District by each pair of candidates for
President and Vice President. The President of the Senate
shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Rep-
resentatives, open all the certificates and announce the
contents.
‘‘SECTION 8. The pair of candidates for President
and Vice President who received the greatest number of
votes, with such number determined by calculating the
sum of the total number of votes received by each pair
of candidates for President and Vice President in each
State and the District and required to be stated in the
certificates to the President of the Senate, shall be appor-
tioned a number of additional electoral votes equal to the
product of two times the sum of the number of States
and the District.
‘‘SECTION 9. The pair of candidates for President
and Vice President receiving the greatest number of elec-
toral votes shall become President and Vice President, if