Amendment XII · Later Amendment
Twelfth Amendment: Separate electoral votes for President and Vice President
About 10 min total: 5 min reading + 5 min for its 5 practice questions
Electors cast separate ballots for President and Vice President.
- Proposed by Congress
- December 9, 1803
- Ratified
- June 15, 1804
- Group
- Later Amendment
- Effect on the Constitution
- Superseded part of Article II, Section 1. Part of the 12th was later superseded by Section 3 of the 20th Amendment.
The text
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 Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, 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. But in choosing 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 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.
*Superseded by section 3 of the 20th amendment. Marked text no longer applies as written.
National Archives note: A portion of Article II, section 1 of the Constitution was superseded by the 12th amendment.
What it means
- Electors cast one ballot for President and a separate ballot for Vice President.
- If no one wins a majority for President, the House chooses from the top three, with each state delegation casting one vote. If no one wins a majority for Vice President, the Senate chooses from the top two.
Who proposed it
Congress (the Senate on December 2 and the House on December 9, 1803) proposed it after the 1800 election crisis. No single author is reliably documented.
When it was proposed and ratified
- Proposed by Congress: December 9, 1803. Senate December 2, House December 9, 1803.
- Ratified: June 15, 1804. New Hampshire was probably the 13th of 17 states to ratify (Constitution Annotated).
Amendments are not signed into law. Congress proposes them by a two-thirds vote of both houses, and they become part of the Constitution when three-fourths of the states ratify. The President has no formal role (Article V).
Why it was made
Under the original Article II each elector cast two votes for President; the runner-up became Vice President. That produced a President and Vice President from rival parties in 1796 (John Adams and Thomas Jefferson). In 1800 Jefferson and his own running mate, Aaron Burr, tied with 73 electoral votes each, and the House needed 36 ballots to choose Jefferson. The 12th Amendment made electors vote separately for each office so a party ticket could not tie.
Key Supreme Court cases
- Election of 1800: the Jefferson–Burr tie
FCLE tips
- House picks the President (one vote per state); Senate picks the Vice President.
| This | With this |
|---|---|
| 12th: separate ballots (1804) | 22nd: two-term limit (1951) |
| House chooses President if no majority | Senate chooses Vice President |
Sources: National Archives (text and dates); Constitution Annotated (Congress.gov) (proposal and ratification history); U.S. Senate Historical Office and Library of Congress (sponsors).