7.1-The President and Vice President

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7.1-The President and Vice President
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The Office of the President

• The President heads the Executive Branch and is
  described in Article II of the Constitution

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The Office of the President

• The US Constitution lists three rules about who
  can become president
• 1. The person must be at least 35 years old
• 2. A native-born American citizen
• 3. A resident of the US for at least 14 years

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Presidential Elections

• Presidential elections take place every 4 years

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Presidential Elections

• The Constitution does not provide for direct
  popular election of the president it set up an
  indirect method of election called the Electoral
  College

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Presidential Elections

• The Constitution says each state shall appoint
  electors who then vote for one of the major
  candidates

Washington D.C.- 3 electors casting ballots in
the 2008 election
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Presidential Elections

• The Twentieth Amendment (1933) shortens the time
  between an election and inauguration day moved
  from March 4th to January 20th

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Electoral College System

• Each state has as many electoral votes as the
  total of its US Senators and Representatives
  (Washington, DC has 3 electoral votes)

Representation by Population
Equal Representation- 2
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Electoral College System

• The Electoral College includes 538 electors it
  is mostly a winner-take-all system if a
  candidate wins the popular vote by a tiny
  majority, that candidate gets all the states
  electoral votes

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Electoral College System

• To be elected president a candidate must receive
  at least half of the 538 electoral votes, a
  candidate needs 270 votes to win

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Electoral College System

• If no candidate receives a majority in the
  electoral college the House of Representatives
  elects the winner
• The formal election by the Electoral College
  doesnt take place until December when electors
  meet in each state capital to cast their ballots

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Term of Office

• Presidents serve 4 year terms
• George Washington served two four year terms and
  refused to run again many later Presidents
  followed his example, this is known as a precedent

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Term of Office

• No president served more than two terms until
  1940, when Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for and won
  a third term he won a 4th term in 1944

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Term of Office

• The 22nd Amendment (1951) limits each President
  to 2 elected terms in office, or a maximum of ten
  years if his presidency began during another
  presidents term

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Salary and Benefits

• The president receives a salary of 400,000 per
  year plus money for expenses and travel he lives
  and works in the White House

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Salary and Benefits

• He also has the use of Camp David, an estate in
  Maryland 60 miles north of Washington, D.C. it
  serves as a retreat and a place to host foreign
  leaders

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Salary and Benefits

• When presidents travel, they command a fleet of
  special cars, helicopters, and airplanes for
  long trips the president uses Air Force One a
  specially equipped jet

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The Vice President

• The Vice President is elected with the President
  by the Electoral College the qualifications are
  the same as those for the President

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The Vice President

• Article I states the VP shall preside over the
  Senate and vote in case of a tie

Since 1789, 244 tie-breaking votes have been
cast. http//www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/
four_column_table/Tie_Votes.htm
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The Vice President

• If the president dies, is removed from office,
  falls seriously ill, or resigns, the Vice
  President becomes president

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The Vice President

• The Twelfth Amendment (1804) states that electors
  should cast separate ballots for President and
  Vice President

Election of 1796- John Adams (Federalist) was
President, Thomas Jefferson (Democratic-Republican
) was VP
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Presidential Succession

• In 1841 William Henry Harrison became the first
  President to die in office, his VP John Tyler
  became President

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Presidential Succession

• In 1947 Congress passed the Presidential
  Succession Act which indicates the line of
  succession after the VP
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_preside
  ntial_line_of_succession

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Presidential Succession

• According to this law, if the president and VP
  die or leave office, the Speaker of the House
  becomes president
• Next in line is the President Pro Tempore of the
  Senate, then the Secretary of State and other
  members of the cabinet

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Presidential Succession

• The 25th Amendment (1967) says if the president
  dies or leaves office the VP becomes president,
  he then chooses another VP who must be approved
  by the Senate and House of Representatives

Joint Resolution proposing the 25th Amendment
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25th Amendment

• Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. (born July 14, 1913 
  December 26, 2006) was the thirty-eighth
  President of the United States, serving from 1974
  to 1977, and the fortieth Vice President of the
  United States serving from 1973 to 1974. He was
  the first person appointed to the vice-presidency
  under the terms of the 25th Amendment, and became
  President upon Richard Nixon's resignation on
  August 9, 1974.

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Presidential Succession

• It also gives the VP a role in determining
  whether a president is disabled and unable to do
  the job, if that occurs the VP serves as acting
  President until the President is ready to go back
  to work

1985- George H. Bush was acting President while
Reagan underwent surgery 2002 and 2007- Dick
Cheney was acting President while Bush underwent
surgery