1 his office during the term of four years, and, together with 2 the Vice President, chosen for the same term, be elected as 3 provided in this article. No person constitutionally ineligible 4 for the office of President shall be eligible for the office of "Sec. 2. The President and Vice President shall be 7 elected by the people of the several States and the District of 8 Columbia. The electors in each State shall have the quali 9 fications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch 10 of the State legislature, except that the legislature of any 11 State may prescribe lesser qualifications with respect to resi 12 dence therein. The electors in the District of Columbia shall e 13 have such qualifications as the Congress may prescribe. The 14 places and manner of holding such election in each State 15 shall be prescribed by the legislature thereof, but the Con 16 gress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations. 17 The place and manner of holding such election in the District 18 of Columbia shall be prescribed by the Congress. The Con19 gress shall determine the time of such election, which shall 20 be the same throughout the United States. Until otherwise 21 determined by the Congress, such election shall be held on the 22 Tuesday next after the first Monday in November of the 23 year preceding the year in which the regular term of the 24 President is to begin. “SEC. 3. Each State shall be entitled to a number of i electoral votes equal to the whole number of Senators and 2 Representatives to which such State may be entitled in the 3 Congress. The District of Columbia shall be entitled to a 4 number of electoral votes equal to the whole number of 5 Senators and Representatives in Congress to which such 6 District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event 7 more than the least populous State. 8 "Sec. 4. Within forty-five f ter such election, or 9 at such time as Congress shall direct, the official custodian 10 of the election returns of each State and the District of yere no even 11 Columbia shall make distinct lists of all persons for whom 12 votes were cast for President and the number of votes 13 cast for each person, and the total vote cast by the electors 14 of the State or the District for all persons for President, 15 which lists he shall sign and certify and transmit sealed 16 to the seat of the Government of the United States, directed 17 to the President of the Senate. On the 6th day of January 18 following the election, unless the Congress by law appoints 19 a different day not earlier than the 4th day of January 20 and not later than the 10th day of January, the President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House 22 of Representatives, open all certificates and the votes shall 23 then be counted. Each person for whom votes were cast 24 for President in each State and the District of Columbia 25 shall be credited with such proportion of the electoral votes 1 thereof as he received of the total vote cast by the electors 2 therein for President. In making the computation, frac3 tional numbers less than one one-thousandth shall be dis4 regarded. The person having the greatest aggregate number 5 of electoral votes of the States and the District of Columbia 6 for President shall be President, if such number be at least 7 40 per centum of the whole number of such electoral votes. 8 If no person has received at least 40 per centum of the 9 whole number of such electoral votes, or if two persons 10 have received an identical number of such electoral votes 11 which is at least 40 per centum of the whole number of electoral votes, then from the persons having the two 13 greatest numbers of such electoral votes for President, the 14 Senate and the House of Representatives sitting in joint 15 session shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. 16 A majority of the votes of the combined membership of 17 the Senate and House of Representatives shall be necessary 18 for a choice. 19 “Sec. 5. The Vice President shall be likewise elected, at the same time, in the same inanner, and subject to the 21 same provisions as the President. “SEC. 6. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate and the House of Representatives may choose a President 25 whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, 1 and for the case of death of any of the persons from whom 2 the Senate and the House of Representatives may choose a 3 Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have de volved upon them. The Congress shall have power to enforce 5 this article by appropriate legislation. 6 "SEC. 7. The following provisions of the Constitution 7 are hereby repealed: paragraphs 1, 2, 3, and 4 of section 1, 8 article II; the twelfth article of amendment; section 4 of the 9 twentieth article of amendment; and the twenty-third ar 10 ticle of amendment. 11 "SEO. 8. This article shall take effect on the 1st day 12 of February following its ratification, except that this article 13 shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an 14 amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three fourths of the States within seven years from the date of its 918T CONGRESS 1ST SESSION LA CONGRESS S. J. RES. 71 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 7, 1969 Mr. Curtis introduced the following joint resolution; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary JOINT RESOLUTION Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States providing for the election of the President and Vice 1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives 2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each llouse concurring therein), That the 4 following article is proposed as an amendment to the Con stitution of the United States which shall be valid to all 6 intents and purposes as part of the Constitution if ratified 7 by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States 8 within seven years from the date of its submission by the 9 Congress : |