The twelfth amendment to the United States Constitution

The twelfth amendment to the United States Constitution was made with the goal of improving the country’s electoral process and avoiding the problems that had occurred in previous presidential elections. This amendment was proposed in Congress in 1803 and passed a year later.

The United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States was created in 1787 and began to be implemented in 1789, after the approval of all the states through the state assemblies. Since its creation, 27 amendments have been created, to fit the needs of the nation over the years.

The first ten amendments provide rights related to justice and individual liberty and limit the powers of the government. Later amendments add more civil rights, mainly the right to vote and the abolition of slavery, and describe other functions of the government.

The electoral system in the United States

In the presidential elections in the United States they are always held on a Tuesday and the president is not chosen by direct popular vote, but through the Electoral College. In turn, this institution is made up of 538 members who are called voters and represent each state, according to the number of inhabitants. The candidate who wins the election in a state gets all the votes in that state. 

Finally, Electoral College voters vote regardless of the results of the popular vote in their state; both can coincide but it is not the norm. The candidate who obtains a minimum of 270 votes from the Electoral College becomes president. 

Background to the 12th Amendment to the United States Constitution

Like other political and social changes in the United States and the world between the 17th and 19th centuries, the twelfth amendment was the result of a process of reform of the electoral system of the country.

The United States electoral system before the 12th Amendment

Before the twelfth amendment to the Constitution was passed, the electoral system in the United States was quite similar to the system used today. The electoral process was carried out indirectly: citizens elected electors, also called delegates, who represented each state and formed the Electoral College. In turn, the members of the Electoral College elected the presidents and vice presidents.

However, until the early 1800s, the electors of the Electoral College did not cast separate votes for president and vice president. Instead, all the presidential candidates ran together and the one with the most votes became the president. The candidate with the second most votes held the position of vice president. The option of choosing a formula for president and vice president from the same political party did not yet exist, as is the case today.  

Although this system did not represent a problem for the first elections in the United States in 1789, where George Washington won unanimously, this type of electoral process proved its failures in the subsequent presidential elections, in the years 1796 and 1800. Because of this , later they tried to solve by means of constitutional amendments.

The 1796 presidential election

The 1796 US presidential election was notable for being the first election to include political parties and for resulting in a president and vice president from different political parties, something that backfired. John Adams of the Federalist Party was the new chairman, and Thomas Jefferson , of the Democratic-Republican Party, became vice-chairman.

The Electoral College was made up of 138 voters and the candidates needed 70 votes to win the election. Each elector had to cast two votes, without distinguishing between president and vice president. In this way, the candidate with the highest number of votes would be president and, the second, vice president. In the event of a tie, the House of Representatives and the Senate would be responsible for electing the president and vice president, respectively. Congress was in charge of choosing the candidates for the other political offices. 

The 1800 presidential election

In the presidential elections of 1800 another unprecedented event occurred. Federalist candidate John Adams, who was president, and Democratic-Republican candidate Thomas Jefferson, who was vice president, were again running for president. This time, each party supported its candidate and nominated a vice president from the same party: John Adams ran with Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and Thomas Jefferson with Aaron Burr.

Although Jefferson had achieved a popular-vote advantage, Federalist Party electors realized that giving their two votes would result in a tie between President and Vice President. Meanwhile, if both obtained a majority, the election of the president would be made by the House of Representatives. Thus, they cast 65 votes for Adams and 64 votes for Pinckney. 

Instead, the Democratic-Republican electors cast their two votes for Jefferson and Burr and drew a 73-73 vote tie, which also turned out to be a majority. Subsequently, the House of Representatives had to choose the president between Jefferson or Burr.

The House of Representatives was made up of state delegations, each of which could cast one vote. To win the elections, the candidate for president had to obtain the majority of the votes. So the Federalists voted for Burr and the Democratic-Republicans for Jefferson. However, this produced another tie. Faced with pressure from the people, the Electoral College, and some influential politicians, some Federalists changed their votes. In this way, Thomas Jefferson won and became the new president. 

Origin of the 12th Amendment to the United States Constitution

Taking into account the problems that had occurred in the previous elections, amend the Constitution so that the same thing would not happen in the next elections, which would be in the year 1804.

In March 1801, the New York state legislature proposed two constitutional amendments, which, although not passed, would set the stage for the twelfth amendment. In 1803 a new amendment was proposed to Congress, which body accepted it and sent it to the states for ratification. The amendment would only pass if it gained the support of thirteen of the states, which at the time numbered seventeen.

In 1804, after being accepted by fourteen states, Congress finally approved the 12th Amendment, which became part of the Constitution on June 15, 1804. The three states that did not approve it (Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Delaware) barely passed it. ratified until 1961.

Beginning in 1804, all presidential elections were conducted with the 12th Amendment to the Constitution in mind.

The 12th Amendment to the United States Constitution

What is the 12th Amendment

The 12th Amendment to the United States Constitution is simply an amendment to the Constitution in force up to that time. This amendment changed the way the president and vice president are elected under the Electoral College system. Basically, it replaced Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the Constitution, which regulated the operation of the Electoral College.

What the 12th Amendment says

The electors will meet in their respective States and will vote by ballot for the President and the Vice President, of which at least one must not be an inhabitant of the same State as them; designate on their ballots the person they voted for for President and on separate ballots the person they voted for for Vice President; they will make separate lists of all the people for whom they have voted for President and of all the people for whom they have voted for Vice President and the number of votes for each of them, lists that they will sign and certify and transmit under seal to the seat of the Government of the United States, for the use of the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate, in the presence of the Senate and the House of Representatives, will open all the certificates and the votes will be counted. The person who obtains the greatest number of votes for President, if that number is greater than the total of the proposed electors, will be President. If no one has such a majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voting for President, the House of Representatives shall immediately elect, by vote, the President. The votes will be made by states, the representation of each state will have one vote; the quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members of two thirds of the states and a majority of all the states shall be required for the election. If the House of Representatives does not elect a President when the right to elect corresponds to them, before the fourth day of March following, the Vice President shall act as President,

The person receiving the greatest number of votes for the office of Vice President shall be the Vice President, if that number represents a majority of the total number of proposed electors. If no one has a majority, the Senate will choose the Vice President from the two highest numbers on the list; the quorum for this purpose will be two thirds of the total number of Senators and a majority of the total number will be necessary for the election. But no person constitutionally ineligible for the office of President shall be eligible for the office of Vice President of the United States.

Amendment XII, published June 15, 1804.

Basically, the twelfth amendment to the United States Constitution states the following:

• It ensures that separate votes are cast in the Electoral College for president and vice president: each elector must cast one vote for president and one vote for vice president, instead of casting two votes for president. 
• Additionally, voters cannot vote for both candidates on a presidential ticket, thus ensuring that candidates from different political parties are never elected president and vice president.
• Prevents people who are not running for president from being vice president (requires that the president and vice president be U.S. citizens, be at least thirty-five years old, and have resided in the United States for fourteen years).
• Maintains the power of the House of Representatives and the Senate to elect the president and vice president, in case of a tie or lack of majority.

Other amendments to the United States Constitution

In the following years, other important amendments were made to the United States Constitution that brought new rights and regulations:

• The 13th Amendment (1865): characterized by including the abolition and prohibition of slavery and forced labor.
• The 14th Amendment (1868): granted the right of citizenship to people born or naturalized in the United States.
• The 15th Amendment (1870): granted the right of suffrage to all male citizens of the United States, without discrimination as to race, color, or history of slavery or servitude.
• The 16th Amendment (1913): established the income tax.
• The 17th Amendment (1913): regulated the functioning of the Senate, with two senators for each State elected by its inhabitants. Each senator can serve for a six-year term and has one vote. 
• The 18th Amendment (1919): prohibited the manufacture, sale, and consumption of alcohol.
• The 19th Amendment (1920): recognized the right to vote for women.
• The 20th Amendment (1933): regulated the duration of the offices of president, vice president, senators and representatives.
• The 21st Amendment (1933): lifted the prohibition on alcohol, but prohibited its transportation and importation.
• The 22nd Amendment (1951): established the possibility of electing a president a maximum of two times. 
• The 23rd Amendment (1961): regulated the number of voters.
• The 24th Amendment (1964): reaffirmed the right of all citizens to vote.
• The 25th Amendment (1967): specified that the vice president can become president if he dies, resigns or is deposed.
• The 26th Amendment (1971): granted the right to vote to all citizens over the age of eighteen.
• The 27th Amendment (1992): regulated the compensation system for senators and representatives.

Sources

• Savannah College. How does the US electoral system work? Unisabana.edu.co. Available here .
• Constitution Center. The Constitution of the United States. Constitutioncenter.org. Available here .
• The cat. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America. elcato.org. Available here .
• Legal Guide. (2020, November 22) The electoral perspective of the twelfth amendment to the Constitution. Guíalegal.com. Available here .
• USAGov in Spanish. (2021). Electoral Process: Electoral College . Available here .