The Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides the procedure for electing the president and vice president. It replaced the procedure provided in Article II, Section 1, Clause 3, by which the Electoral College originally functioned. The amendment was proposed by the Congress on December 9, 1803, and was ratified by the requisite three-fourths of state legislatures on June 15, 1804. The new rules took effect for the 1804 presidential election and have governed all subsequent presidential elections.
The 1796 United States presidential election was the third quadrennial presidential election of the United States. It was held from Friday, November 4 to Wednesday, December 7, 1796. It was the first contested American presidential election, the first presidential election in which political parties played a dominant role, and the only presidential election in which a president and vice president were elected from opposing tickets. Incumbent Vice President John Adams of the Federalist Party defeated former Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson of the Democratic-Republican Party.
In United States presidential elections, an unpledged elector is a person nominated to stand as an elector but who has not pledged to support any particular presidential or vice presidential candidate, and is free to vote for any candidate when elected a member of the Electoral College. Presidential elections are indirect, with voters in each state choosing electors on Election Day in November, and these electors choosing the president and vice president of the United States in December. Electors in practice have since the 19th century almost always agreed in advance to vote for a particular candidate — that is, they are said to have been pledged to that candidate. In several elections in the 20th century, however, competitive campaigns were mounted by candidates who made no pledge to any presidential nominee before the election. These anomalies largely arose from fissures within the Democratic Party over the issues of civil rights and segregation. No serious general election campaign has been mounted to elect unpledged electors in any state since 1964.
In the United States Electoral College, a faithless elector is an elector who does not vote for the candidates for U.S. President and U.S. Vice President for whom the elector had pledged to vote, and instead votes for another person for one or both offices or abstains from voting. As part of United States presidential elections, each state selects the method by which its electors are to be selected, which in modern times has been based on a popular vote in most states, and generally requires its electors to have pledged to vote for the candidates of their party if appointed. A pledged elector is only considered a faithless elector by breaking their pledge; unpledged electors have no pledge to break. The consequences of an elector voting in a way inconsistent with their pledge vary from state to state.
In United States politics, balancing the ticket is a practice where a political candidate chooses a running mate, usually of the same party, with the goal of bringing more widespread appeal to the campaign. The term is most prominently used to describe the selection of the U.S. Vice Presidential candidate.
The 1940 Democratic National Convention was held at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois from July 15 to July 18, 1940. The convention resulted in the nomination of President Franklin D. Roosevelt for an unprecedented third term. Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace from Iowa was nominated for vice president.
The Libertarian Party of the United States was formed in Colorado Springs in the home of Luke Zell by a group of individuals led by David Nolan on December 11, 1971, after several months of debate among members of the Committee to Form a Libertarian Party, founded July 17. The formation was prompted in part by price controls and the end of the Gold Standard implemented by President Richard Nixon. The Libertarian Party viewed the dominant Republican and Democratic parties as having diverged from what they viewed as the libertarian principles of the American Founding Fathers. This group included John Hospers, Edward Crane, Manuel Klausner, Murray Rothbard, Roy Childs, D. Frank Robinson, Theodora (Tonie) Nathan, and Jim Dean.
The election of the president and the vice president of the United States is an indirect election in which citizens of the United States who are registered to vote in one of the fifty U.S. states or in Washington, D.C., cast ballots not directly for those offices, but instead for members of the Electoral College. These electors then cast direct votes, known as electoral votes, for president, and for vice president. The candidate who receives an absolute majority of electoral votes is then elected to that office. If no candidate receives an absolute majority of the votes for president, the House of Representatives elects the president; likewise if no one receives an absolute majority of the votes for vice president, then the Senate elects the vice president.
This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Democratic nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 1984 election. Former Vice President Walter Mondale won the 1984 Democratic nomination for President of the United States, and chose New York Representative Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate. Ferraro was the first woman to be a part of a national ticket for a major party. Mondale chose Ferraro in hopes of energizing the base and winning the votes of women, but also because he viewed her as a solid legislator who had won the approval of Speaker Tip O'Neill. John R. Reilly, an attorney and a senior adviser to Mondale, managed the search for a running mate. Mondale seriously considered his major rival for the 1984 presidential nomination, Senator Gary Hart, but Mondale refused to consider a second rival, Jesse Jackson, on the grounds that the differences between their policies were too great. The Mondale–Ferraro ticket ultimately lost to the Reagan–Bush ticket. This is the last time the Democratic vice presidential nominee was not the incumbent vice president or a Senator, and, not counting the times when the incumbent President was running for re-election, the last time the Democratic vice presidential nominee was not a Senator.
This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Republican nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 1980 election. Former California Governor Ronald Reagan won the 1980 Republican nomination for President of the United States, and chose former CIA Director George H. W. Bush as his running mate.
This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Republican nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 1976 election. At the 1976 Republican National Convention, incumbent President Gerald Ford narrowly won the presidential nomination over former California Governor Ronald Reagan. Ford had decided not to choose Vice President Nelson Rockefeller as his running mate, due to Rockefeller's unpopularity with the right wing of the Republican Party. He instead chose Senator Bob Dole of Kansas. Dole was acceptable to the conservative wing of the party, and Ford hoped that Dole would help the ticket win the western states and the agricultural vote. The Ford–Dole ticket lost the general election to the Carter–Mondale ticket. Though he would not win the presidential nomination, Reagan announced before the convention that he would pick Senator Richard Schweiker of Pennsylvania as his running mate. Dole went on to become Senate Republican leader, and the Republican presidential nominee in 1996, losing the general election to incumbent President Bill Clinton.
The selection of the Democratic Party's vice presidential candidate for the 1960 United States presidential election occurred at the party's national convention on August 13, 1960. After winning the presidential nomination on the first ballot of the 1960 Democratic National Convention, Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy turned his attention to picking a running mate. Kennedy chose Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson, who had finished second on the presidential ballot, as his running mate. Johnson, a Protestant Texan, provided geographical and religious balance to a ticket led by a Catholic Northeasterner, but many liberals did not like the pick. Many were surprised both that Kennedy made the offer and that Johnson accepted the offer, as the two had been rivals for the 1960 presidential nomination. According to some accounts, Kennedy had offered the position to Johnson as a courtesy and expected Johnson to decline the offer; when Johnson accepted, Kennedy sent his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, to talk Johnson out of accepting the offer. However, Kennedy may have made the offer in earnest due to Johnson's appeal in the south, Johnson's friendly relationship with Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn, and Kennedy's desire to remove Johnson as Senate Majority Leader in favor of the more liberal Mike Mansfield. Regardless, Johnson decided that accepting the offer would be better for his political career and better position himself to become president, and so he chose to become Kennedy's running mate. The Democratic convention confirmed Johnson as the vice presidential nominee, although the delegation from Washington, D.C. attempted to select Minnesota Governor Orville Freeman instead.
This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Republican nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 1960 election. After winning the Republican presidential nomination at the 1960 Republican National Convention, Vice President Richard Nixon needed to choose a running mate. President Dwight D. Eisenhower strongly supported UN Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. Though Lodge lacked charisma as a campaigner, his foreign policy experience and stature as ambassador made him an appealing candidate. However, Lodge was unpopular with the Republican right, who did not want a Northeastern moderate on the ticket. Nixon also strongly considered conservative Minnesota Representative Walter Judd and moderate Kentucky Senator Thruston Morton. After a closed session with Republican Party leaders, Nixon announced his choice of Lodge. The Republican convention ratified Nixon's choice of Lodge. The Nixon–Lodge ticket lost the 1960 election to the Democratic ticket of Kennedy–Johnson.
This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Democratic nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 1952 election. After winning the presidential nomination on the third ballot of the 1952 Democratic National Convention, Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson consulted with Democratic Party leaders such as President Harry S. Truman and Speaker Sam Rayburn. Stevenson chose Alabama Senator John Sparkman, a Southern centrist, as his running mate. Sparkman won the vice presidential nomination on the first ballot as no serious rival tried to displace Stevenson's choice. However, many Northerners were not enthused with the choice of Sparkman due to Sparkman's stance on civil rights. During the 1952 convention, Sparkman, who had supported Senator Richard Russell for president, played a part in watering down the party's platform on civil rights. New York Representative Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and others walked out of the convention after the choice of Sparkman was announced. The Democratic ticket lost the 1952 election to the Republican ticket of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon.
This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Democratic nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 1948 election. At the 1948 Democratic National Convention, President Harry S. Truman won nomination for a full term. Truman had become president upon the death of his predecessor and 1944 running mate, Franklin D. Roosevelt. As the 25th Amendment had not yet been passed, there was no method for filling a vice presidential vacancy, and Truman served without a vice president during his first term. Truman's nomination faced significant opposition from the South, as did the party's platform on civil rights. Though Truman attempted to convince Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas to join the ticket, Douglas declined. Truman instead selected Senate Minority Leader Alben W. Barkley, the preferred choice of many Democratic delegates, and a border state Senator who could appeal to both the Northern and Southern wings of the party. The Truman–Barkley ticket won the 1948 election, defeating the Republican (Dewey–Warren), Progressive (Wallace–Taylor), and Dixiecrat (Thurmond–Wright) tickets.
This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Republican nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 1952 election. After defeating Ohio Senator Robert A. Taft for the Republican presidential nomination at the 1952 Republican National Convention, General Dwight D. Eisenhower needed to choose a running mate. Taft recommended Illinois Senator Everett Dirksen, but Eisenhower rejected the suggestion. Eisenhower and his advisers put together a list of prominent Republicans who were acceptable to both the conservative Taft and liberal Dewey wings of the party, anti-Communist, talented at campaigning, relatively young, and who contributed to Eisenhower's nomination victory. After conferring with Republican Party leaders, Eisenhower decided to ask California Senator Richard Nixon to be his running mate; Nixon accepted the offer. Nixon had carefully campaigned for the post of vice president since meeting Eisenhower in 1951, and Nixon helped deliver the California delegation to Eisenhower in the presidential ballot. The Republican convention ratified Eisenhower's choice of Nixon. Months after the convention, Eisenhower considered asking Nixon to step down as running mate due to controversy surrounding campaign expenses, but Nixon rallied public opinion with his Checkers speech and remained on the ticket. The Eisenhower–Nixon ticket won the 1952 election, as well as the 1956 election, defeating the Stevenson–Sparkman and Stevenson–Kefauver tickets, respectively.
This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Republican nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 1948 election. After New York Governor Thomas Dewey secured the Republican presidential nomination on the third ballot of the 1948 Republican National Convention, the convention needed to choose Dewey's running mate. Dewey and several party leaders discussed Dewey's running mate during the evening of June 24. House Majority Leader Charles A. Halleck and former Minnesota Governor Harold Stassen were both considered, but Dewey ultimately decided to ask California Governor Earl Warren to be his running mate. Warren had earlier said that he would not accept the vice presidential nomination, and asked for time to consider the offer. In the meantime, Stassen was offered the nomination if Warren declined. However, Dewey convinced the reluctant Warren to join his ticket. Halleck alleged that he had been promised the vice presidency in exchange for supporting Dewey, but Halleck's isolationism convinced Dewey and others to pass him over. The Dewey-Warren ticket was well-received by the press, as it combined the youthful, popular governors of two of the three most populous states in the nation. Despite being favored by most, the Dewey–Warren ticket lost the 1948 election to the Democratic Truman–Barkley ticket. In 1953, Warren was appointed Chief Justice of the United States by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Republican nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 1944 election. At the start of the 1944 Republican National Convention, New York Governor Thomas Dewey seemed like the likely presidential nominee, but his nomination was not assured due to strong support for Ohio Governor John W. Bricker and former Minnesota Governor Harold Stassen. Though Dewey wanted California Governor Earl Warren as his running mate, Warren was convinced that Franklin D. Roosevelt would win re-election, and refused to be anyone's running mate. Some Republicans wanted to ask Democratic Senator Harry Byrd of Virginia to be the Republican running mate in order to pursue the Southern vote, but this possibility was not seriously pursued. Dewey and his advisers instead worked out a deal in which Bricker's delegates voted for Dewey in the presidential ballot, and Dewey in return chose Bricker as his running mate. The Dewey–Bricker ticket, which balanced the moderate Northeastern and conservative Midwestern wings of the party, was ratified by the Republican convention. The ticket lost the 1944 presidential election to the Roosevelt–Truman ticket.
