The United States is unusual among contemporary presidential republics by providing for the indirect election of its President and Vice President. Election of these two officers by a group of electors, known collectively as the electoral college, was established in Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution. The states were given blanket authority to appoint these electors "in such Manner as the Legislature[s] thereof" may direct. The original constitutional provisions, under which electors cast two votes for different candidates for President, but none for Vice President, proved unworkable after only two contested elections, resulting in a constitutional crisis during the deadlocked election of 1800. Following this significant event, Congress proposed the Twelfth Amendment, which provides for separate electoral vote ballots in Congress for the President and Vice President, and which was ratified by the states in time for the 1804 election. The constitutional presidential election provisions of Article II, Section 1 and the Twelfth Amendment have remained unchanged since that time. As with other provisions of the Constitution, Article II, Section 1 and the Twelfth Amendment established a basic framework for presidential elections but it extended considerable latitude to the states concerning its implementation. Arguably the most important related power reserved to the states was their right to appoint electors "in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct.... " In the years following ratification of the Twelfth Amendment, this right was exercised in various ways as state laws and political party procedures added a range of now-familiar additional elements to the system. These include such practices as popular election of electors by the voters; joint tickets for presidential and vice presidential candidates—the voter casts a single ballot for both candidates; the predominance of the general ticket, or winner-take-all, system or method, which awards all of a state's electoral votes to the ticket that wins the most popular votes statewide; a range of differing nomination procedures for elector candidates in the states; and, an enduring tradition that electors are expected, but not constitutionally required, to vote for the candidates to whom they are pledged. The electoral college system has proved to be durable: 54 presidential elections have been held under this arrangement since the Twelfth Amendment was implemented in 1804. In 53 of these, it delivered a majority of electoral votes for President and Vice President, and in 49 instances it delivered the presidency to "the people's choice," the candidates who won the most popular votes. When measured by the first factor, it delivered an electoral vote majority to one candidate or ticket 98.2% of the times; when measured by whether it has delivered the presidency to "the people's choice," the candidate who won the most popular votes, it did so 90.7% of the times. The electoral college has almost always been the subject of some criticism, however. Proposals to reform its alleged failings, or to replace it with something completely different, have been offered since the earliest days of the republic. Few questions so vexed the Constitutional Convention of 1787 as that of presidential election. During the convention, the delegates voted successively for election by Congress; direct popular election by the people; selection by the governors of the several states; election by electors chosen by the state legislatures; and even election by a group of Members of Congress chosen by lot. At length, the matter was referred to a committee on "postponed matters," which reported a compromise plan near the close of the convention. The committee considered a range of generally agreed-upon principles for choice of the chief executive. Proceeding from the lengthy convention debate on choosing the chief executive, they contrived a mode of election designed to be free of undue influence by Congress, thus ensuring greater independence in the executive and separation of powers; provide a fundamental role for the states by establishing the election as a federal, as well as a national, process; allocate electors by a formula that provided a certain degree of advantage to less populous states, to avoid complete domination of the election process by the more populous ones; give the state legislatures broad authority over the choice of electors: at the legislatures' discretion, electors could be picked by popular vote, by the legislature itself, or by another body altogether; and, ultimately temper popular enthusiasms and partisan and sectional attachments by giving the actual vote to the electors, who, it was hoped, would be prominent citizens of their states and communities—well-informed and educated persons who would make a balanced and measured selection. Notwithstanding the Founders' intentions, from the very beginning, the electoral college began to change, evolving through constitutional amendment, state laws, and political party practices. The growth of political parties and the spread of voting rights and democratic principles overtook the Founders' vision that the President would be chosen by the nation's most distinguished citizens. Within two decades, the electoral college evolved into the compound system that continues to govern U.S. presidential elections two centuries later. As noted previously, the U.S. Constitution's minimal electoral college provisions have been complemented over the past two centuries by a range of federal and state laws, political party procedures, and enduring political traditions, resulting in the system as it exists today. The salient features of the contemporary arrangement, a mixture of these elements, are detailed below. The electors are collectively known as the electoral college; although this phrase does not appear in the Constitution, it gained currency in the early days of the republic, and was recognized in federal law in 1845. The electoral college has no continuing existence. Its sole purpose is to elect the President and Vice President; electors convene in the state capitals, vote, and adjourn. Each state is allocated a number of electors equal to the combined total of its U.S. Senate and House of Representatives delegations; in addition, the District of Columbia is also allocated three electors. At present, the total is 538, reflecting the combined membership of the Senate (100 Members), the House (435 Members), and the District of Columbia electors. Any person may serve as an elector, except Senators and Representatives, or any other person holding an office of "trust or profit" under the United States. As noted previously, the state legislatures select the method by which electors are chosen. In practice, all states currently provide for popular election of their electoral college delegations. Candidates for the office of elector are nominated by political parties and other groups eligible to be on the ballot in each state. In most cases, the elector candidates are nominated by the state party committee or the party's state convention. The winning presidential and vice presidential candidates must gain a majority of electoral votes (270 of 538) to be elected. If no ticket of candidates attains a majority, then the House of Representatives elects the President and the Senate elects the Vice President, in a procedure known as contingent election. The assorted components of the electoral college system come into operation before, during, and after presidential election day, once every four years. Aside from the period of several months when electors are nominated, elected, and cast their votes, the college has no permanent or continuing existence. Presidential election day is set by federal law for Tuesday after the first Monday in November every fourth year succeeding the election of President and Vice President; one-third of U.S. Senators, all Members of the House of Representatives, and many state and local officials are also chosen on election day, which falls on November 3 in 2020. On election day, voters across the country cast one vote for the team of presidential and vice presidential candidates they support. When they do so, they are actually voting for the political party "ticket" of candidates for the office of elector who support, and pledge to vote for, that party's presidential and vice presidential candidates. The popular vote is cast and certified, the electors are chosen, and they then assemble and vote in their respective states. While the nationwide popular vote count, the "horse race," is generally accorded widespread publicity during the campaign, ultimately it is the electoral vote tally in the states that decides the election. The goal of presidential campaigns is to win by carrying states that collectively cast a majority of electoral votes. In particular, political parties and presidential campaign organizations focus on states that are closely contested, that have large delegations of electoral votes, or both. Winning a majority of the more populous of these "battleground" or "swing" states is considered crucial to obtaining the necessary electoral vote majority. In 48 states and the District of Columbia, the ticket that wins the most popular votes, a plurality or more, is awarded all the state's electoral votes. That is, the winning party's entire slate or ticket of candidates for the office of elector is elected. This is referred to as the "general ticket" or "winner-take-all" system or method. Maine and Nebraska use a different method, the "district" system, under which popular votes are counted twice; first, on a statewide basis, and second, on a congressional district basis. The presidential/vice presidential ticket receiving the most votes statewide receives two electors (or electoral votes) for this total. The ticket winning the most votes in each congressional district receives a single elector/electoral vote for that district. In this way, a state's electoral vote may be divided to reflect geographical differences in support within the state for different candidates. Presidential electors assemble on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December following the election. In 2020, the electors are to assemble on December 14. They meet in their respective states and cast separate votes by paper ballot for the President and Vice President. As noted earlier, candidates for the office of elector are selected by their respective political party. They are expected to vote for the candidates to whom they are pledged, but occasionally a "faithless elector" will vote against instructions.