15 giug 1804 anni - Twelfth Amendment
Descrizione:
The 12th amendment to the Constitution is ratified, which changed the electoral college to avoid deadlocks. Under the old rules, electoral delegates received two votes, which they were meant to use to cast for a candidate and their running mate. One of the delegates was supposed to throw away one of their votes to ensure that the vice presidential candidate received one less vote, making them vice president as intended. However, in the 1800 election, the intended delegate did not comply, meaning that an equal number of votes had been cast for Thomas Jefferson and his running mate Aaron Burr. The 12th Amendment fixed this by assigning each delegate two votes, with one that has to be cast for a presidential candidate and the other for a vice presidential candidate. Whoever receives a majority of the presidential electoral vote becomes president, and whoever receives the majority of the vice presidential vote becomes vice president.
If no presidential candidate receives a majority, the victor is determined by the House of Representatives, who may only select between the top three candidates. However, instead of each representative voting individually, each state only gets one elector, in a manner similar to that of the Senate. This is to prevent candidates from populous states from having an unfair advantage, as electors tend to favor a candidate from their home state. If the House cannot come to a decision by March 4 of the year after the election, the newly elected vice president will act as president in the meantime. Similarly, if no vice presidential candidate wins a majority, the Senate will choose the victor between the top two candidates.
Additionally, the amendment prevents anyone who could not constitutionally become president from becoming vice president. Finally, electors cannot cast their vote for two people of the same state, to prevent them from favoritism.
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