Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution facts for kids

The Twelfth Amendment (also called Amendment XII) is an important part of the U.S. Constitution. It was suggested to Congress in 1803 and officially added to the Constitution in 1804. This amendment changed how the President and Vice President are chosen.

Before this amendment, each person in the Electoral College (who vote for President) cast two votes. The person with the most votes became President. The person with the second most votes became Vice President. This could lead to problems, as the President and Vice President might be from different political parties. The Twelfth Amendment fixed this by making electors vote separately for President and Vice President.

What the Amendment Says

The Twelfth Amendment explains the rules for electors. They meet in their states and vote by secret ballot. They must vote for one person for President and a different person for Vice President. At least one of these people cannot be from the same state as the elector.

The electors then make lists of who they voted for. These lists are sealed and sent to the President of the Senate. The Senate President opens the lists in front of the Senate and House of Representatives. Then, the votes are counted.

If someone gets more than half of the votes for President, they win. If no one gets a majority, the House of Representatives chooses the President. They pick from the top three candidates. Each state gets one vote in the House.

For Vice President, if someone gets more than half of the votes, they win. If not, the Senate chooses the Vice President. They pick from the top two candidates. Also, someone who cannot be President cannot be Vice President either.

Why This Amendment Was Needed

The way the President was elected caused problems early in U.S. history. When the Constitution was first written, the Constitutional Convention of 1787 created the Electoral College. This system was a compromise for choosing the President.

In the 1796 election, George Washington decided not to run again. His Vice President, John Adams, ran for President. Thomas Jefferson also ran. When the votes were counted, Adams became President. But Jefferson, who was from a different political party, became Vice President. This meant the two top leaders had very different ideas.

The biggest problem happened in the 1800 election. Thomas Jefferson and his running mate, Aaron Burr, both got the same number of electoral votes. They were both from the same party, the Democratic-Republicans. This created a tie!

Because of the tie, the House of Representatives had to choose the President. They voted 35 times, but the tie remained. Finally, on the 36th vote, Thomas Jefferson was elected President. This showed everyone that the election system needed to be changed.

To fix these issues, the Twelfth Amendment was proposed. Congress suggested it on December 9, 1803. It was quickly approved by enough states and became part of the Constitution on September 25, 1804.

How It Changed Elections

The Twelfth Amendment kept the Electoral College system. But it made a very important change to the voting process. Now, each elector casts one vote specifically for President and a separate vote specifically for Vice President.

This change made sure that the President and Vice President would usually be from the same political party. It also prevented ties between a presidential candidate and their own running mate. If no one gets a majority of votes, the House of Representatives still chooses the President, and the Senate still chooses the Vice President. This system is still used today.

Images for kids

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  The Twelfth Amendment in the National Archives

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  Certificate for the electoral vote for Rutherford B. Hayes and William A. Wheeler for the State of Louisiana

See also

In Spanish: Duodécima Enmienda a la Constitución de los Estados Unidos para niños