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Page 67 – 12th Amendment Institutionalizes Party Usurpation
There are three ways to abuse (subvert) the Constitution:
a) Ignore it
b) Misinterpret it
c) Inappropriately amend it.
The Constitution can be inappropriately amended either by disregarding the technical instructions of amendment (Article V) or by amending it in such a way that the functionality is impaired—causing inconsistencies with other constitutional principles or provisions. The passage of the 12th Amendment did not violate specific instructions of how to amend. It did, however, circumvent the reason for establishing the Electoral College System.
Due to party influence and manipulation of the Electors relating to the selection of a President, the first two abuses had become commonplace. To sanction the first two abuses, the third was required.
Amending the Constitution
Instead of recognizing their error in allowing the party system to usurp the Electors’ constitutionally delegated responsibility of nominating presidential candidates, the now party-controlled Congress put together a bill to “fix” the “problem” in the Constitution. This “fix” was passed by Congress in December of 1803 and then hastily ratified by the states as the 12th Amendment (June 15, 1804). It reads as follows:
The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;
The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;
The person having the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President.
The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States. (Amendment 12)