    [United States Senate Manual, 112th Congress]
    [S. Doc. 112-1]
    [USCODETITLE]
    [Pages 818-825]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 818]]

                                   TITLE 3.--THE PRESIDENT

                      Chapter 1.--PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS AND VACANCIES

          1100  Sec. 1. Time of appointing electors.
                    The electors of President and Vice President shall be
                appointed, in each State, on the Tuesday next after the
                first Monday in November, in every fourth year succeeding
                every election of a President and Vice President. (June 25,
                1948, ch. 644, Sec. 1, 62 Stat. 672.)
          1101  Sec. 2. Failure to make choice on prescribed day.
                    Whenever any State has held an election for the purpose
                of choosing electors, and has failed to make a choice on the
                day prescribed by law, the electors may be appointed on a
                subsequent day in such a manner as the legislature of such
                State may direct. (June 25, 1948, ch. 644, Sec. 1, 62 Stat.
                672.)
          1102  Sec. 3. Number of electors.
                    The number of electors shall be equal to the number of
                Senators and Representatives to which the several States are
                by law entitled at the time when the President and Vice
                President to be chosen come into office; except, that where
                no apportionment of Representatives has been made after any
                enumeration, at the time of choosing electors, the number of
                electors shall be according to the then existing
                apportionment of Senators and Representatives. (June 25,
                1948, ch. 644, Sec. 1, 62 Stat. 672.)
          1103  Sec. 4. Vacancies in electoral college.
                    Each State may, by law, provide for the filling of any
                vacancies which may occur in its college of electors when
                such college meets to give its electoral vote. (June 25,
                1948, ch. 644, Sec. 1, 62 Stat. 673.)
          1104  Sec. 5. Determination of controversy as to appointment of
                    electors.
                    If any State shall have provided, by laws enacted prior
                to the day fixed for the appointment of the electors, for
                its final determination of any controversy or contest
                concerning the appointment of all or any of the electors of
                such State, by judicial or other methods or procedures, and
                such determination shall have been made at least six days
                before the time fixed for the meeting of the electors, such
                determination made pursuant to such law so existing on said
                day, and made at least six days prior to said time of
                meeting of the electors, shall be conclusive, and shall
                govern in the counting of the electoral votes as provided in
                the Constitution, and as hereinafter regulated, so far as
                the ascertainment of the electors appointed by such State is
                concerned. (June 25, 1948, ch. 644, Sec. 1, 62 Stat. 673.)
          1105  Sec. 6. Credentials of electors; transmission to Archivist
                    of the United States and to Congress; public inspection.
                    It shall be the duty of the executive of each State, as
                soon as practicable after the conclusion of the appointment
                of the electors in such State by the final ascertainment,
                under and in pursuance of the laws

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                of such State providing for such ascertainment, to
                communicate by registered mail under the seal of the State
                to the Archivist of the United States, a certificate of such
                ascertainment of the electors appointed, setting forth the
                names of such electors and the canvass or other
                ascertainment under the laws of such State of the number of
                votes given or cast for each person for whose appointment
                any and all votes have been given or cast; and it shall also
                thereupon be the duty of the executive of each State to
                deliver to the electors of such State, on or before the day
                on which they are required by section 7 of this title to
                meet, six duplicate-originals of the same certificate under
                the seal of the State; and if there shall have been any
                final determination in a State in the manner provided for by
                law of a controversy or contest concerning the appointment
                of all or any of the electors of such State, it shall be the
                duty of the executive of such State, as soon as practicable
                after such determination, to communicate under the seal of
                the State to the Archivist of the United States, a
                certificate of such determination in form and manner as the
                same shall have been made; and the certificate or
                certificates so received by the Archivist of the United
                States, shall be preserved by him for one year and shall be
                a part of the public records of his office and shall be open
                to public inspection; and the Archivist of the United
                States, at the first meeting of Congress thereafter shall
                transmit to the two Houses of Congress copies in full of
                each and every such certificate so received at the National
                Archives and Records Administration. (June 25, 1948, ch.
                644, 62 Stat. 673; Oct. 31, 1951, ch. 655, Sec. 6, 65 Stat.
                711; Oct. 19, 1984, Pub.L. 98-497, Title I, Sec. 107(e)(1),
                (2)(A), 98 Stat. 2291.)
          1106  Sec. 7. Meeting and vote of electors.
                    The electors of President and Vice President of each
                State shall meet and give their votes on the first Monday
                after the second Wednesday in December next following their
                appointment at such place in each State as the legislature
                of such State shall direct. (June 25, 1948, ch. 644, Sec. 1,
                62 Stat. 673.)
          1107  Sec. 8. Manner of voting.
                    The electors shall vote for President and Vice
                President, respectively, in the manner directed by the
                Constitution. (June 25, 1948, ch. 644, Sec. 1, 62 Stat.
                674.)
          1108  Sec. 9. Certificates of votes for President and Vice
                    President.
                    The electors shall make and sign six certificates of all
                the votes given by them, each of which certificates shall
                contain two distinct lists, one of the votes for President
                and the other of the votes for Vice President, and shall
                annex to each of the certificates one of the lists of the
                electors which shall have been furnished to them by
                direction of the executive of the State. (June 25, 1948, ch.
                644, Sec. 1, 62 Stat. 674.)
          1109  Sec. 10. Sealing and endorsing certificates.
                    The electors shall seal up the certificates so made by
                them, and certify upon each that the lists of all the votes
                of such States given for President, and of all the votes
                given for Vice President, are contained therein. (June 25,
                1948, ch. 644, Sec. 1, 62 Stat. 674.)

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          1110  Sec. 11. Disposition of certificates.
                    The electors shall dispose of the certificates so made
                by them and the lists attached thereto in the following
                manner:
                    First. They shall forthwith forward by registered mail
                one of the same to the President of the Senate at the seat
                of government.
                    Second. Two of the same shall be delivered to the
                secretary of state of the State, one of which shall be held
                subject to the order of the President of the Senate, the
                other to be preserved by him for one year and shall be a
                part of the public records of his office and shall be open
                to public inspection.
                    Third. On the day thereafter they shall forward by
                registered mail two of such certificates and lists to the
                Archivist of the United States at the seat of government,
                one of which shall be held subject to the order of the
                President of the Senate. The other shall be preserved by the
                Archivist of the United States for one year and shall be a
                part of the public records of his office and shall be open
                to public inspection.
                    Fourth. They shall forthwith cause the other of the
                certificates and lists to be delivered to the judge of the
                district in which the electors shall have assembled. (Oct.
                31, 1951, ch. 655, Sec. 7, 65 Stat. 712; Oct. 19, 1984,
                Pub.L. 98-497, Title I, Sec. 107(e)(1), 98 Stat. 2291.)
          1111  Sec. 12. Failure of certificates of electors to reach
                    President of Senate or Archivist of the United States;
                    demand on State for certificate.
                    When no certificate of vote and list mentioned in
                sections 9 and 11 of this title from any State shall have
                been received by the President of the Senate or by the
                Archivist of the United States by the fourth Wednesday in
                December, after the meeting of the electors shall have been
                held, the President of the Senate or, if he be absent from
                the seat of government, the Archivist of the United States
                shall request, by the most expeditious method available, the
                secretary of state of the State to send up the certificate
                and list lodged with him by the electors of such State; and
                it shall be his duty upon receipt of such request
                immediately to transmit same by registered mail to the
                President of the Senate at the seat of government. (Oct. 31,
                1951, ch. 655, Sec. 8, 65 Stat. 712; Oct. 19, 1984, Pub.L.
                98-497, Title I, Sec. 107(e)(1), (2)(B), 98 Stat. 2291.)
          1112  Sec. 13. Same; demand on district judge for certificate.
                    When no certificates of votes from any State shall have
                been received at the seat of government on the fourth
                Wednesday in December, after the meeting of the electors
                shall have been held, the President of the Senate or, if he
                be absent from the seat of government, the Archivist of the
                United States shall send a special messenger to the district
                judge in whose custody one certificate of votes from the
                State has been lodged, and such judge shall forthwith
                transmit that list by the hand of such messenger to the seat
                of government. (Oct. 31, 1951, ch. 655, Sec. 9, 65 Stat.
                712; Oct. 19, 1984, Pub.L. 98-497, Title I, Sec. 107(e)(1),
                98 Stat. 2291.)
          1113  Sec. 14. Forfeiture for messenger's neglect of duty.
                    Every person who, having been appointed, pursuant to
                section 13 of this title, to deliver the certificates of the
                votes of the electors to the President of the Senate, and
                having accepted such appointment,

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                shall neglect to perform the services required from him,
                shall forfeit the sum of $1,000.  (June 25, 1948, ch. 644,
                Sec. 1, 62 Stat. 675.)
          1114  Sec. 15. Counting electoral votes in Congress.
                    Congress shall be in session on the sixth day of January
                succeeding every meeting of the electors. The Senate and
                House of Representatives shall meet in the Hall of the House
                of Representatives at the hour of 1 o'clock in the afternoon
                on that day, and the President of the Senate shall be their
                presiding officer. Two tellers shall be previously appointed
                on the part of the Senate and two on the part of the House
                of Representatives, to whom shall be handed, as they are
                opened by the President of the Senate, all the certificates
                and papers purporting to be certificates of the electoral
                votes, which certificates and papers shall be opened,
                presented, and acted upon in the alphabetical order of the
                States, beginning with the letter A; and said tellers,
                having then read the same in the presence and hearing of the
                two Houses, shall make a list of the votes as they shall
                appear from the said certificates; and the votes having been
                ascertained and counted according to the rules in this
                subchapter provided, the result of the same shall be
                delivered to the President of the Senate, who shall
                thereupon announce the state of the vote, which announcement
                shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of the persons, if
                any, elected President and Vice President of the United
                States, and, together with a list of the votes, be entered
                on the Journals of the two Houses. Upon such reading of any
                such certificate or paper, the President of the Senate shall
                call for objections, if any. Every objection shall be made
                in writing, and shall state clearly and concisely, and
                without argument, the ground thereof, and shall be signed by
                at least one Senator and one Member of the House of
                Representatives before the same shall be received. When all
                objections so made to any vote or paper from a State shall
                have been received and read, the Senate shall thereupon
                withdraw, and such objections shall be submitted to the
                Senate for its decision; and the Speaker of the House of
                Representatives shall, in like manner, submit such
                objections to the House of Representatives for its decision;
                and no electoral vote or votes from any State which shall
                have been regularly given by electors whose appointment has
                been lawfully certified to according to section 6 of this
                title from which but one return has been received shall be
                rejected, but the two Houses concurrently may reject the
                vote or votes when they agree that such vote or votes have
                not been so regularly given by electors whose appointment
                has been so certified. If more than one return or paper
                purporting to be a return from a State shall have been
                received by the President of the Senate, those votes, and
                those only, shall be counted which shall have been regularly
                given by the electors who are shown by the determination
                mentioned in section 5 of this title to have been appointed,
                if the determination in said section provided for shall have
                been made, or by such successors or substitutes, in case of
                a vacancy in the board of electors so ascertained, as have
                been appointed to fill such vacancy in the mode provided by
                the laws of the State; but in case there shall arise the
                question which of two or more of such State authorities
                determining what electors have been appointed, as mentioned
                in section 5 of this title, is the lawful tribunal of such
                State, the votes regularly given of those electors, and
                those only, of such State shall be counted whose title as
                electors the two Houses, acting separately, shall
                concurrently

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                decide is supported by the decision of such State so
                authorized by its law; and in such case of more than one
                return or paper purporting to be a return from a State, if
                there shall have been no such determination of the question
                in the State aforesaid, then those votes, and those only,
                shall be counted which the two Houses shall concurrently
                decide were cast by lawful electors appointed in accordance
                with the laws of the State, unless the two Houses, acting
                separately, shall concurrently decide such votes not to be
                the lawful votes of the legally appointed electors of such
                State. But if the two Houses shall disagree in respect of
                the counting of such votes, then, and in that case, the
                votes of the electors whose appointment shall have been
                certified by the executive of the State, under the seal
                thereof, shall be counted. When the two Houses have voted,
                they shall immediately again meet, and the presiding officer
                shall then announce the decision of the questions submitted.
                No votes or papers from any other State shall be acted upon
                until the objections previously made to the votes or papers
                from any State shall have been finally disposed of.  (June
                25, 1948, ch. 644, Sec. 1, 62 Stat. 675.)
          1115  Sec. 16. Same; seats for officers and Members of two Houses
                    in joint meeting.
                    At such joint meeting of the two Houses seats shall be
                provided as follows: For the President of the Senate, the
                Speaker's chair; for the Speaker, immediately upon his left;
                the Senators, in the body of the Hall upon the right of the
                presiding officer; for the Representatives, in the body of
                the Hall not provided for the Senators; for the tellers,
                Secretary of the Senate, and Clerk of the House of
                Representatives, at the Clerk's desk; for the other officers
                of the two Houses, in front of the Clerk's desk and upon
                each side of the Speaker's platform. Such joint meeting
                shall not be dissolved until the count of electoral votes
                shall be completed and the result declared; and no recess
                shall be taken unless a question shall have arisen in regard
                to counting any such votes, or otherwise under this
                subchapter, in which case it shall be competent for either
                House, acting separately, in the manner hereinbefore
                provided, to direct a recess of such House not beyond the
                next calendar day, Sunday excepted, at the hour of 10
                o'clock in the forenoon. But if the counting of the
                electoral votes and the declaration of the result shall not
                have been completed before the fifth calendar day next after
                such first meeting of the two Houses, no further or other
                recess shall be taken by either House.  (June 25, 1948, ch.
                644, Sec. 1, 62 Stat. 676.)
          1116  Sec. 17. Same; limit of debate in each House.
                    When the two Houses separate to decide upon an objection
                that may have been made to the counting of any electoral
                vote or votes from any State, or other question arising in
                the matter, each Senator and Representative may speak to
                such objection or question five minutes, and not more than
                once; but after such debate shall have lasted two hours it
                shall be the duty of the presiding officer of each House to
                put the main question without further debate.  (June 25,
                1948, ch. 644, Sec. 1, 62 Stat. 676.)

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          1117  Sec. 18. Same; parliamentary procedure at joint meeting.
                    While the two Houses shall be in meeting as provided in
                this chapter, the President of the Senate shall have power
                to preserve order; and no debate shall be allowed and no
                question shall be put by the presiding officer except to
                either House on a motion to withdraw.  (Sept. 3, 1954, ch.
                1263, Sec. 3, 68 Stat. 1227.)
          1118  Sec. 19. Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice
                    President; officers eligible to act.
                    (a)(1) If, by reason of death, resignation, removal from
                office, inability, or failure to qualify, there is neither a
                President nor Vice President to discharge the powers and
                duties of the office of President, then the Speaker of the
                House of Representatives shall, upon his resignation as
                Speaker and as Representative in Congress, act as President.
                    (2) The same rule shall apply in the case of the death,
                resignation, removal from office, or inability of an
                individual acting as President under this subsection.
                    (b) If, at the time when under subsection (a) of this
                section a Speaker is to begin the discharge of the powers
                and duties of the office of President, there is no Speaker,
                or the Speaker fails to qualify as Acting President, then
                the President pro tempore of the Senate shall, upon his
                resignation as President pro tempore and as Senator, act as
                President.
                    (c) An individual acting as President under subsection
                (a) or subsection (b) of this section shall continue to act
                until the expiration of the then current Presidential term,
                except that--
                                (1) if his discharge of the powers and
                            duties of the office is founded in whole or in
                            part on the failure of both the President-elect
                            and the Vice-President-elect to qualify, then he
                            shall act only until a President or Vice
                            President qualifies; and
                                (2) if his discharge of the powers and
                            duties of the office is founded in whole or in
                            part on the inability of the President or Vice
                            President, then he shall act only until the
                            removal of the disability of one of such
                            individuals.
                    (d)(1) If, by reason of death, resignation, removal from
                office, inability, or failure to qualify, there is no
                President pro tempore to act as President under subsection
                (b) of this section, then the officer of the United States
                who is highest on the following list, and who is not under
                disability to discharge the powers and duties of the office
                of President shall act as President: Secretary of State,
                Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Defense, Attorney
                General, Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of
                Agriculture, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Labor,
                Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Housing
                and Urban Development, Secretary of Transportation,
                Secretary of Energy, Secretary of Education, Secretary of
                Veterans Affairs, Secretary of Homeland Security.
                    (2) An individual acting as President under this
                subsection shall continue to do so until the expiration of
                the then current Presidential term, but not after a
                qualified and prior-entitled individual is able to act,
                except that the removal of the disability of an individual
                higher on the list contained in paragraph (1) of this
                subsection or the ability to qualify on the part of an
                individual higher on such list shall not terminate his
                service.

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                    (3) The taking of the oath of office by an individual
                specified in the list in paragraph (1) of this subsection
                shall be held to constitute his resignation from the office
                by virtue of the holding of which he qualifies to act as
                President.
                    (e) Subsections (a), (b), and (d) of this section shall
                apply only to such officers as are eligible to the office of
                President under the Constitution. Subsection (d) of this
                section shall apply only to officers appointed, by and with
                the advice and consent of the Senate, prior to the time of
                the death, resignation, removal from office, inability, or
                failure to qualify, of the President pro tempore, and only
                to officers not under impeachment by the House of
                Representatives at the time the powers and duties of the
                office of President devolve upon them.
                    (f) During the period that any individual acts as
                President under this section, his compensation shall be at
                the rate then provided by law in the case of the President.
                (June 25, 1948, ch. 644, Sec. 1, 62 Stat. 677; Sept. 9,
                1965, Pub.L. 89-174, Sec. 6(a), 79 Stat. 669; Oct. 15, 1966,
                Pub.L. 89-670, Sec. 10(a), 80 Stat. 948; Aug. 12, 1970,
                Pub.L. 91-375, Sec. 6(b), 84 Stat. 775; Aug. 4, 1977, Pub.L.
                95-91, Title VII, Sec. 709(g), 91 Stat. 609; Oct. 17, 1979,
                Pub.L. 96-88, Title V, Sec. 508(a), 93 Stat. 692; Oct. 25,
                1988, Pub.L. 100-527, Sec. 13(a), 102 Stat. 2643; Oct. 11,
                1996, Pub.L. 104-287, Sec. 7(5), 110 Stat. 3400; Mar. 9,
                2006, Pub.L. 109-177, Title V, Sec. 503, 120 Stat. 247.)
          1119  Sec. 20. Resignation or refusal of office.
                    The only evidence of a refusal to accept, or of a
                resignation of the office of President or Vice President,
                shall be an instrument in writing, declaring the same, and
                subscribed by the person refusing to accept or resigning, as
                the case may be, and delivered into the office of the
                Secretary of State.  (June 25, 1948, ch. 644, Sec. 1, 62
                Stat. 678.)
          1120  Sec. 21. Definitions.
                    As used in this chapter the term--
                                (a) ``State'' includes the District of
                            Columbia.
                                (b) ``executives of each State'' includes
                            the Board of Commissioners of the District of
                            Columbia. (Oct. 4, 1961, Pub.L. 87-389,
                            Sec. 2(a), 75 Stat. 820.)

                      Chapter 2.--OFFICE AND COMPENSATION OF PRESIDENT

          1121  Sec. 101. Commencement of term of office.
                    The term of four years for which a President and Vice
                President shall be elected, shall, in all cases, commence on
                the 20th day of January next succeeding the day on which the
                votes of the electors have been given. (June 25, 1948, ch.
                644, Sec. 1, 62 Stat. 678.)
          1122  Sec. 104. Salary of the Vice President.
                    (a) The per annum rate of salary of the Vice President
                of the United States shall be the rate determined for such
                position under chapter 11 of title 2, as adjusted under this
                section. Subject to subsection (b), effective at the
                beginning of the first month in which an adjustment takes
                effect under section 5303 of title 5 in the rates of pay
                under the General Schedule, the salary of the Vice President
                shall be adjusted by an amount, rounded to the nearest
                multiple of $100 (or if midway between multiples of $100, to
                the nearest higher multiple of $100),

    [[Page 825]]

                equal to the percentage of such per annum rate which
                corresponds to the most recent percentage change in the ECI
                (relative to the date described in the next sentence), as
                determined under section 704(a)(1) of the Ethics Reform Act
                of 1989. The appropriate date under this sentence is the
                first day of the fiscal year in which such adjustment in the
                rates of pay under the General Schedule takes effect.
                    (b) In no event shall the percentage adjustment taking
                effect under the second and third sentences of subsection
                (a) in any calendar year (before rounding) exceed the
                percentage adjustment taking effect in such calendar year
                under section 5303 of title 5 in the rates of pay under the
                General Schedule. (June 25, 1948, ch. 644, 62 Stat. 678;
                Jan. 19, 1949, ch. 2, Sec. 1(b), 63 Stat. 4; Mar. 2, 1955,
                ch. 9, Sec. 4(c), 69 Stat. 11; Pub.L. 88-426, Title III,
                Sec. 304(a), Aug. 14, 1964, 78 Stat. 422; Pub.L. 91-67,
                Sec. 1, Sept. 15, 1969, 83 Stat. 106; Pub.L. 94-82, Title
                II, Sec. 203, Aug. 9, 1975, 89 Stat. 420; Pub.L. 97-257,
                Title I, Sec. 105(b), Sept. 10, 1982, 96 Stat. 849; Pub.L.
                101-194, Title VII, Sec. 704(a)(2)(A), Nov. 30, 1989, 103
                Stat. 1769; Pub.L. 101-509, Title V, Sec. 529 (Title I,
                Sec. 101(b)(4)(I)), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1427, 1440;
                Pub.L. 103-356, Title I, Sec. 101(2), Oct. 13, 1994, 108
                Stat. 3410.)
          1123  Sec. 111. Expense allowance of Vice President.
                    There shall be paid to the Vice President in equal
                monthly installments an expense allowance of $20,000 per
                annum to assist in defraying expenses relating to or
                resulting from the discharge of his official duties, for
                which no accounting, other than for income tax purposes,
                shall be made by him. (Jan. 19, 1949 ch. 2, Sec. 1(c), 63
                Stat. 4; Oct. 20, 1951, ch. 521, Sec. 619(b), 65 Stat. 570;
                Feb. 20, 2003, Pub.L. 108-7, Div. H, Title I, Sec. 1(a), 117
                Stat. 348.)

                                   4 u.s.c.--flag and seal

                      general and permanent laws relating to the senate