President Elections in USA; History & Method of Election

Overview of the Article

In this article we shall do an in-depth study of the US presidential election system. We will understand the history and the laws associated with these elections. Under the section of laws we tend to look upon the factors like eligibility requirements, nomination process, the role of Electoral College and ultimately who will come to power if there is no majority. Apart from it we will know about the composition of the US Parliament .

History

On September 5, 1774, a convention of delegates emerged as the first national government of the U.S. This national government was termed as the ‘Continental Congress.’ The President was chosen by the delegates from among the delegates. This presidency was largely a ceremonial position. The main role of this presidency was to serve as a neutral discussion moderator. The president was responsible for dealing with a large amount of official correspondence, but he could not give an answer to any letter without being instructed to do so by the Congress. As this office was designed to be majorly a ceremonial position without much influence so it is entirely unrelated to the later office of the President of the United States.

The ratification of Articles of Confederation in March 1781 and ending of Revolutionary War marked a decline in importance of Congress and its presidency. The Articles of Confederation even changed the name of the Continental Congress to ‘Congress of the Confederation’. Gradually, the delegates that served the Congress reduced and it was difficult for Congress to even maintain the quorum.

In the later months of 1787, people from various states started to talk about the proposed US Constitution. With this the status of the Confederation Congress declined to just a care taker government. Finally, the Constitution was ratified on September 17, 1788. It established Electoral College as the lawful organ to choose the President.

After the First General elections of 1788-89, on 6^th April, 1789, George Washington became the first President of the USA and John Adams as the Vice-President.

Election Laws

While the United States Constitution sets parameters for the elections of the federal officials. The state laws govern or regulate the most aspects of the federal elections like the eligibility of voters, the functioning of Electoral College of each state. Now we shall look at various legal measures and legislations with respect to the procedure of the elections.

Eligibility Requirements:

According to Article 2 of the Constitution following are some of the eligibility requirements for the office of Presidency:
The individual must be a natural-born citizen of the United States.
At least 35 years old and a resident of United States for a period not less than that of 14 years.

Any candidate can start running for the elections before completing the age of 35 or 14 years of residency. But s/he should complete both the requirements- age as well as the residency on the inauguration day. Inauguration day is the one on which the four year term commences.

Two provisions of the Constitution apply to all the candidates applying for federal offices. These are as follows:
Article I, Section 3, Clause 7 states that if Congress convicts any official on grounds of impeachment, then they can also bar the officer from holding any public office again.
The Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits officers from contesting elections if involved in an act of insurrection/mutiny after holding any public office.

This disqualification can only be dropped if the candidate gains the consent of both the houses of the Congress by two-thirds of majority (in both the houses).

With the passing of the Twelfth Amendment, all the above mentioned eligibility requirements were necessary to be fulfilled by any candidate contesting for the post of Vice-Presidency.
The Twenty-second amendment to the Constitution had brought in the term limit for the office of the President. According to this amendment the term limit prescribed is not more than two terms. One term is of four years.

Voter Eligibility

As per the various constitutional amendments- 15^th, 19^th and 26^th -the suffrage i.e. right to vote is not denied to any citizen on the basis of race or colour, sex or age for eighteen years and older.
Beyond these fundamental laws, specific laws regulating the voter registration and eligibility were under states own jurisdiction.
These specific requirements vary from state to state. Like some states do not give voting rights to people convicted for felony.

Nominating Process

The modern nominating process comprises of two phases: firstly, presidential primary elections and caucuses and secondly, presidential nominating conventions.
Presidential Primary Elections and Caucuses:
This method was developed by the political parties with time. It was never enshrined in the Constitution. The primary elections are run by the state government and the caucuses (meetings) are a kind of private events of the political parties.
Under this, instead of voters directly electing the nominee for the Presidency, they rather determine number of delegates each party’s national will receive. These delegates then in turn select the Presidential candidate nominee.
Presidential Nominating Conventions:
This nomination is held every four years by the political parties.
The formal purpose of this convention is to select the party’s nominee for popular elections of the President.
Along with this another agenda is to adopt the party principles and goals; also known as party platform. They also adopt rules for party’s activities.
Each political party determines how many delegates to allocate to each state territory. This may differ from party to party or from state to state because of different formulas applied by the two main political parties.
Each party’s presidential candidate also chooses a vice presidential nominee to run with him or her on the same ticket, and this choice is rubber-stamped by the convention.

Electoral College

The Electoral College refers to the group of presidential electors required by the United States Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of electing the president and vice president of the United States.
Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the Constitution provides that each state shall “appoint” electors selected in a manner its legislature determines, and it disqualifies any person holding a federal office, either elected or appointed, from being an elector.
There are currently 538 electors, and an absolute majority of electoral votes, 270 or more, is required to win the election.
Most state laws establish a winner-take-all system, wherein the ticket that wins a plurality of votes wins all of that state’s allocated electoral votes, and thus has their panel of electors chosen to vote in the Electoral College.
Each state’s winning slate of electors then meets at their respective state’s capital to cast their electoral votes on separate ballots for president and vice president.
Although Electoral College members can vote for anyone under the U.S. Constitution, 32 states plus the District of Columbia have laws against faithless electors, those electors who do not cast their electoral votes for the person for whom they have pledged to vote.
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in the case Chiafalo v. Washington, that the constitution does not prevent states from penalizing or replacing faithless electors.

If no Candidate has majority:

If there is no candidate with a majority i.e. 270 votes, then the President is decided by the rules outlined in the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution.
Under this the selection of President would be by a contingent election in a ballot of House of Representatives. For this purpose, each state has only one vote. The ballot of the Senate is considered for the elections of the Vice-President.
Such contingent elections for the office of President were held only twice in history- in 1800 and 1824, while for the Vice- President these were held only once- in 1836.
Powers of the President:
The powers of the President of the United States include those powers explicitly granted by Article II of the United States Constitution to the president of the United States, powers granted by Acts of Congress, implied powers, and also a great deal of soft power that is attached to the presidency.
The Constitution explicitly assigns the president the power to sign or veto legislation, command the armed forces, ask for the written opinion of their Cabinet, convene or adjourn Congress, grant reprieves and pardons and receive ambassadors. The President shall take care that the laws are faithfully executed and the President has the power to appoint and remove executive officers.
The President may make treaties, which need to be ratified by two-thirds of the Senate, and is accorded with those foreign-affairs functions which are not otherwise granted to Congress or shared with the Senate. Thus, the President can control the formation and communication of foreign policy and can direct the nation’s diplomatic corps.
The President may also appoint Article III judges and some officers with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate. In the condition of a Senate recess, the President may make a temporary appointment.

Impeachment procedure

In the United States, impeachment implies to a process in which the legislature brings charges against a civil officer of Government for the crimes alleged to have been committed. This impeachment may occur at the federal level or at the state level.

Constitutional Provisions for Impeachment

Article I, Section 2, Clause 5 provides:

The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.

According to Article I, Section 3, Clauses 6 :

The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two-thirds of the Members present

Article II, Section 2 provides:

[The President] shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.

Article II, Section 4 provides:

The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors

Procedure for Impeachment

At the Federal Level it is a three step Procedure:
Firstly, the Congress investigates. This investigation usually begins in the House Judiciary Committee, but can begin elsewhere also. For example, in the case of Richard Nixon, the impeachment inquiry began in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Secondly, the House of Representatives should pass the articles of impeachment via simple majority of those present and voting. These articles constitute the allegation or allegations of impeachment. Upon the passage of these articles, the defendant is deemed to be impeached.
Lastly, the Senate tries the accused. In case of the President, the US Constitution clearly states that the presiding officer of the proceedings will be the Chief Justice of the United States. Conviction on the Senate requires two- thirds of supermajority. The result of the conviction is removal from the office.

Composition of U.S.A Parliament

The U.S. Parliament is known as the U.S. Congress. It a bicameral legislature, which comprises of two chambers, namely, the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Congress has total 535 voting members, which consists of 100 senators and 435 representatives. According to the ‘Reappointment Act of 1929, the number of representatives is constant’. Members in both the chambers are eligible for re-election.

House of Representatives

According to, Article One of the United States Constitution, the members of Congress must be at least 25 years old for the House of Representatives. S/he should be a citizen of the United States for seven years and an inhabitant of the state which they represent.
It is the lower house of the Parliament. The House is composed of representatives who sit in congressional districts allocated to each state on the basis of population as measured by the U.S. Census, with each district entitled to one representative.
Representatives and delegates serve for a two-year term, while a resident commissioner (a kind of delegate) serves for four years. The U.S. Constitution requires that vacancies in the House be filled with a special election. The term of the replacement member expires on the date that the original member’s would have expired.
Though the speaker is the presiding officer of the House but s/he does not preside over every debate. Instead s/he delegates the responsibility of presiding to other members of the House.
The speaker is second in line of Presidential succession after the Vice-President.

The Senate

As per Article I, Section 3, of the Constitution, sets three qualifications for senators: (1) they must be at least 30 years old; (2) they must have been citizens of the United States for at least nine years; and (3) they must be inhabitants of the states they seek to represent at the time of their election. The age and citizenship qualifications for senators are more stringent than those for representatives.
It is the Upper chamber of the Congress. Each state, regardless of its population size, is equally represented by two senators who serve a staggered term of six years. There are 50 states in the Union; therefore there are currently 100 senators.
Under the Constitution, the vice president serves as president of the Senate. He or she may vote in the Senate in the case of a tie, but is generally not required to. S/he is an ex officio, because he or she is not an elected member of the Senate.
The Constitution authorizes the Senate to elect a president pro tempore – a Latin phrase for “president for a time”, who presides over the chamber in the vice president’s absence, and is, by custom, the senator of the majority party with the longest record of continuous service. Like the vice president, the president pro tempore does not normally preside over the Senate, but typically delegates the responsibility of presiding to a majority-party senator who presides over the Senate, usually in blocks of one hour on a rotating basis.

This Article is authored by:- Bhoomika ( MCMDAV-36, Chd.)