[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.J. Res. 25 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. J. RES. 25

  Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to 
    abolish the electoral college and establish a new procedure for 
               electing the President and Vice President.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 1, 2001

Mr. Leach introduced the following joint resolution; which was referred 
                   to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                            JOINT RESOLUTION


 
  Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to 
    abolish the electoral college and establish a new procedure for 
               electing the President and Vice President.

    Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House 
concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an 
amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be 
valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when 
ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States 
within seven years after the date of its submission for ratification:

                              ``Article --

    ``Section 1. The President and Vice President shall be elected in 
accordance with this article by the people of the several States and of 
the District constituting the seat of Government of the United States. 
The electors in the District shall have such qualifications as Congress 
may by law prescribe, and the electors in each State shall have the 
qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of 
the State legislature.
    ``Section 2. On the day designated by Congress for holding an 
election for President and Vice President, each elector shall cast a 
single vote jointly applicable to a pair of candidates for President 
and Vice President. The candidate for President and the candidate for 
Vice President shall be clearly indicated within each pair. The names 
of candidates for President and Vice President shall not be joined as a 
pair unless both candidates shall have consented thereto and no name of 
a candidate may be joined with that of more than one other person.
    ``Section 3. The times, places, and manner of holding an election 
for President and Vice President shall be regulated in the District by 
Congress, and in each State by the legislature thereof, except that 
Congress may at any time make or alter such regulations.
    ``Section 4. Each State shall have the number of electoral votes 
that is equal to the number of Senators and Representatives in Congress 
to which such State is entitled. The District shall have the number of 
electoral votes that is equal to the number of Senators and 
Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if 
it were a State. The legislature of each State shall determine whether 
to apportion the electoral votes of such State in accordance with the 
provisions of section 5 or section 6.
    ``Section 5. The legislature of any State may determine to, and the 
District shall, apportion all of the electoral votes of such State or 
the District to the pair of candidates for President and Vice President 
that received the greatest number of votes in such State or District.
    ``Section 6. The legislature of any State may determine to 
apportion two of the electoral votes of such State to the pair of 
candidates for President and Vice President that received the greatest 
number of votes in such State, and to apportion one electoral vote, for 
each district from which a Representative from such State is elected, 
to the pair of candidates for President and Vice President that 
received the greatest number of votes in such district.
    ``Section 7. The chief executive of each State and the District 
shall, within thirty days after an election for President and Vice 
President, transmit a signed and sealed certificate to the President of 
the Senate stating the number of electoral votes of such State or 
District that are apportioned to each pair of candidates for President 
and Vice President, and the total number of votes received in such 
State or District by each pair of candidates for President and Vice 
President. The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the 
Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and 
announce the contents.
    ``Section 8. The pair of candidates for President and Vice 
President who received the greatest number of votes, with such number 
determined by calculating the sum of the total number of votes received 
by each pair of candidates for President and Vice President in each 
State and the District and required to be stated in the certificates to 
the President of the Senate, shall be apportioned a number of 
additional electoral votes equal to the product of two times the sum of 
the number of States and the District.
    ``Section 9. The pair of candidates for President and Vice 
President receiving the greatest number of electoral votes shall become 
President and Vice President, if such number be a majority of the sum 
of the number of additional electoral votes and the number of 
apportioned electoral votes required to be stated in the certificates 
to the President of the Senate.
    ``Section 10. If no pair of candidates for President and Vice 
President receives such majority, then the House of Representatives 
shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President from the candidates 
for President, not exceeding three, receiving the highest number of 
electoral votes when paired with a candidate for Vice President, and 
the Senate shall choose the Vice President from the candidates for Vice 
President receiving the two highest number of electoral votes when 
paired with a candidate for President. In choosing the President, one 
round of votes shall be taken first by State, the representation from 
each State having one vote. A quorum for such purpose shall consist of 
a member or members from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of 
all States shall be necessary to a choice. If no candidate for 
President receives such majority, then the House of Representatives 
shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President from the same such 
candidates, with each Representative having one vote. A quorum for such 
purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of 
Representatives, and a majority of the whole number of Representatives 
shall be necessary to a choice. In choosing the Vice President, each 
Senator shall have one vote, a quorum shall consist of two-thirds of 
the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number of 
Senators shall be necessary to a choice.
    ``Section 11. This article shall apply with respect to any election 
of a President and Vice President to a term of office commencing later 
than two years after the date of the ratification of this article.''.
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