CRS Report for Congress - The Electoral College: How It Works in Contemporary Presidential Elections (Paperback)

When Americans vote for President and Vice President, they are actually choosing presidential electors, known collectively as the electoral college. It is these officials who choose the President and Vice President of the United States. The complex elements comprising the electoral college system are responsible for one of the most important processes of the American political and constitutional system: election of the President and Vice President. A failure to elect, or worse, the choice of a chief executive whose legitimacy might be open to question, could precipitate a profound constitutional crisis that would require prompt, judicious, and well-informed action by Congress. Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution, as amended in 1804 by the 12th Amendment, sets forth the requirements for election of the President and Vice President. It authorizes each state to appoint, by whatever means the legislature chooses, a number of electors equal to the combined total of its Senate and House of Representatives delegations, for a contemporary total of 538, including three electors for the District of Columbia. Since the Civil War, the states have universally provided for popular election of the presidential electors. Anyone may serve as an elector, except Members of Congress and persons holding offices of "Trust or Profit" under the Constitution. In each presidential election year, the political parties and other groups that have secured a place on the ballot in each state nominate a "slate" or "ticket" of candidates for elector.

General

Imprint:	Bibliogov
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	November 2013
First published:	November 2013
Creators:	Congressional Research Service the Libr
Authors:	Thomas H. Neale
Dimensions:	246 x 189 x 2mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - Trade
Pages:	28
ISBN-13:	978-1-294-26955-7
Categories:	Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > General
LSN:	1-294-26955-0
Barcode:	9781294269557

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