Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution

E2953

The Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the 1804 amendment that reformed the presidential election process by requiring separate Electoral College votes for president and vice president to prevent electoral deadlocks and conflicts between running mates.

Aliases (2)
  • Twelfth Amendment ×1
  • Twelfth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ×1

Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf amendment to the United States Constitution
constitutional amendment
adoptedIn United States
appliesToOffice President of the United States
Vice President of the United States
changes procedure for casting electoral votes
procedure for counting electoral votes
procedure for resolving no-majority outcomes in presidential elections
clarifies procedure for counting electoral votes in the presence of the Senate and House
country United States of America
effectiveFrom 1804
followedBy Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
follows Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution
historicalContext rise of political parties in the early United States
jurisdiction United States federal government
language English
legalStatus in force
limits number of presidential candidates considered by the House in a contingent election to three
locationInDocument Article II of the United States Constitution as modified
mainEffect prevented president and vice president from being political opponents elected from different parties under most circumstances
reduced likelihood of electoral deadlocks between presidential and vice presidential candidates
reformed the original presidential election procedure in Article II, Section 1
required separate Electoral College ballots for president and vice president
motivatedBy electoral crisis of the election of 1800
numberInSequence 12
partOf United States Constitution
precededBy Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution
proposedBy United States Congress
proposedOn 1803-12-09
provides that a majority of all states is required to elect a president in the House
that a majority of the whole number of senators is required to elect a vice president in the Senate
that a two-thirds quorum of the whole number of senators is required for a contingent vice presidential election
that each state delegation in the House has one vote in a contingent presidential election
that electors cast one distinct vote for president
that electors cast one distinct vote for vice president
that no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of president shall be eligible to that of vice president
that the House chooses the president from the top three electoral vote-getters
that the House of Representatives chooses the president if no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes
that the Senate chooses the vice president from the top two electoral vote-getters for vice president
that the Senate chooses the vice president if no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes for vice president
ratifiedBy state legislatures of the United States
ratifiedOn 1804-06-15
subject Electoral College
United States presidential elections
United States vice presidential elections
contingent election in the House of Representatives
contingent election in the Senate
presidential succession procedures


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