Amendment, Twelfth

Amendment to the US Constitution, ratified in 1804, that directs electors to vote separately for the president and the vice-president.

The Twelfth Amendment was drafted as a result of the 1799 election, in which Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr both got 73 votes in the electoral college, forcing the House of Representatives to decide which candidate would become president. Before the Twelfth Amendment was passed electors voted for two candidates for president. The candidate with the most votes became president, and the runner-up became vice-president. In the 1799 election, a lengthy stalemate caused much concern before Jefferson finally became president.

The Twelfth Amendment also specifies certain electoral college voting procedures. It was amended in 1933 by the Twentieth Amendment, which brought forward the date that an elected presidential candidate takes office from March 4 to January 20.